Shoulder & Elbow

The October 2026 Shoulder & Elbow Roundup 360 looks at: Delaying debridement beyond 24 hours is not associated with greater infection or reoperation after open upper limb fractures; Non-arthroplasty surgery improves pain and function in massive irreparable posterosuperior cuff tears, but no single technique is clearly superior; Postoperative shoulder stiffness affects around one in six patients after rotator cuff repair, with diabetes the strongest associated patient factor; The Latarjet graft persists at long term, despite predictable remodelling, in patients with minimal glenoid bone loss; Gravity varus stress CT reveals occult instability in isolated coronoid fractures that routine static imaging frequently misses; Shoulder arthroplasty is growing faster proportionally than hip or knee arthroplasty, but long-term projections are uncertain; Repeated corticosteroid injections before shoulder arthroplasty are associated with increasing long-term complications; Total elbow arthroplasty for distal humeral fracture shows favourable implant survival despite poorer early patient-reported function.