Although the development of painful glenoid arthrosis is the most common reason for a reoperation after replacement of the humeral head, there are few reports in Japan. We reported an such a case because of high activity. The patient was sixty-seven-year-old man. He suffered from a left humeral fracture and his operation was performed in 1971. Then his left shoulder pain had continued, and a hemiarthroplasty (Neer II) to his left humerus was performed in 1993 in our hospital. After that the shoulder pain disappeared, and he was able to elevate his shoulder 170 degrees. In 2001 he again suffered from left shoulder pain because of a left glenoid arthrosis. On November 27,2001 a revision total shoulder arthroplasty was performed. Though his humeral head was displaced posteroinferiorly, the exposure of his glenoid was difficult. After the operation his shoulder pain decreased, and the elevation of his shoulder was 170 degrees. Sperling has reported on eighteen cases of this disease. Long-term studies are necessary to evaluate the durability of total shoulder replacement in this group of patients as well as in our case.
