2011 Volume 35 Issue 3 Pages 923-926
Hemodialytic shoulder is a common shoulder disorder with severe shoulder pain in long-term hemodialysis patients. Shoulder arthroscopic surgeries have recently developed, though few reports about the effectiveness of arthroscopic surgeries for hemodialytic shoulders are reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical results of arthroscopic treatment for hemodialytic shoulders with a minimum follow-up of 6 months. We retrospectively evaluated 11 shoulders in 8 patients, who were diagnosed as having hemodialytic shoulders and who received arthroscopic treatment. Average age at the time of surgery was 60.3 years old (range; 49-64 years). Average post-surgical follow-up was 29.8 months (range; 6-58 months). Arthroscopic surgeries included debridement in 11 shoulders, subacromial decompression in 10 shoulders and rotator cuff repair in 4 shoulders. Clinical features such as hemodialysis duration and hemodialysis pain were evaluated. Clinical results were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association shoulder scoring system (JOA score). Average duration of hemodialysis was 21.8 years (range; 4-31 years) and over 20 years of long-term duration were observed in 8 cases. Hemodialysis pain was observed in all cases preoperatively. The average JOA score improved from 53.6 points preoperatively to 79.5 and 86.0 points at 3 and 6 months follow-up respectively. Patients treated with arthroscopic surgeries for hemodialytic shoulders showed excellent clinical outcome at a minimum of 6 months follow-up.
