Over 800,000 patients in the U.S. have undergone shoulder arthroplasty for a variety of medical conditions. Implant design has been affected by the rapid and popular trends of minimally-invasive surgeries. Traditional or “anatomical” shoulder replacement involves replacing the ball of the humeral bone with a metal or ceramic ball. A plastic socket takes the place of the glenoid cavity within the scapula. In a reverse shoulder replacement, the ball and socket are essentially switched.
