Rose Medical Center program pioneers advanced shoulder replacement for younger patients

Denver, CO — The Rose Medical Center Shoulder Program is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed its first shoulder replacement using the newly pioneered pyrocarbon humeral head since receiving FDA approval. Medical Director Armodios Hatzidakis, M.D. was the leader of the implant’s investigational device exemption (IDE) study with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that included 31 surgical patients at Rose Medical Center. “In the past, shoulder replacement surgery for younger patients with severe shoulder arthritis has not been recommended as we saw high failure risk due to the socket component loosening, which would cause a younger patient to need repeated surgery,” Dr. Hatzidakis explained.

The shoulder program team at Rose Medical Center has nearly eight years of follow up with the patients in the clinical trial and the team has been extremely pleased with the results. The material now used is much more durable—and the team thinks it could last a lifetime for a younger patient.

The implant is comprised of pyrocarbon, an advanced bearing material that is more similar to bone than traditional metallic bearing surfaces. The carbon-ceramic composite with graphite is placed during a shoulder hemiarthroplasty to replace a severely arthritic shoulder joint. Wes Bovee, a patient from the clinical trial, had the surgery in 2017 and reported near immediate pain relief in his joint. After suffering for decades with chronic shoulder pain and nearly complete dysfunction following a BMX accident, Wes explains the surgery “improved the quality of my life dramatically.” He was throwing overhead within six months and is able to play basketball and golf with his children—something he’d never been able to do with them before.

To learn more about shoulder replacement and the program at Rose Medical Center, visit the Rose Medical Center website.