As a shoulder and elbow surgeon a lot of operations that I perform involve implanting hardware to help solve someone’s problem. Examples of hardware include plates and screws, joint replacement implants and arthroscopic anchors.
When someone asks whether hardware needs to be removed in the future they usually are referring to plates and screws that help hold fractures together.
Heuristics are “rules of thumb” that people use to make decisions in situations that involve uncertainty. Taleb writes about them in depth and I enjoy his writing. The daily practice of medicine requires making frequent high stakes decision with incomplete knowledge. Where “evidence based medicine” leaves off, heuristics often take over.
I think both doctors and patients use them, but in different ways.
Truth #1: Shoulder Arthritis Often Affects Both Arms For a given patient, shoulder arthritis in the ball and socket portion of the joint usually occurs in both arms. We don’t totally understand why this is. There is likely some genetic predisposition that we have yet to fully figure out. But it’s true: if you’ve got … Read more
Bone Loss Below the 25% Threshold This new study takes things a step further. It shows that results after instability surgery tend to be worse in direct proportion to the amount of bone loss one has even below the 25% threshold. This study is extremely interesting. What we are finding out now with the use … Read more
Arthritis in the Ball and Socket Joint Arthritis is actually relatively uncommon in this joint. But when it occurs it tends to show a distinct pattern. The hallmark of arthritis at the ball and socket shoulder joint is joint space narrowing bone spurs at the bottom of the ball portion of the joint. The patient … Read more
Thanks for visiting my blog. It is focused on issues pertaining to shoulder and elbow conditions and shoulder and elbow surgery. I will share my personal insights with you as a practicing shoulder and elbow surgeon.
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Walk through the pros and cons of shoulder replacement surgery with an experienced surgeon.
