FDA approves new shoulder implant

From high school seniors to senior citizens, more than 100,000 people will need a shoulder replacement each year.

For older adults, arthritis is the main reason for severe shoulder pain. For younger people, rotator cuff tears can lead to a replacement, but the younger you have surgery, the more likely the replacement parts will wear out or fail.

A new FDA-approved implant is changing the game.

Father Jordan Brown knew he wanted to be a priest since he was 16.

“I love serving the church,” he said.

However, Father Brown was also just a teenager when he first hurt his left shoulder. Decades later, the pain almost cost him his calling.

“I’ll start with the baptism; holding an infant was excruciating pain,” he said.

Father Brown was the perfect candidate for a newly FDA-approved shoulder replacement made of a pyrocarbon, not the traditional metallic and plastic.

“The weak link is that plastic, so if you’re older and you’re not very active, that plastic’s fine. It’ll last your whole life, but when you’re young, like Father Brown, he was 59 when I did his shoulder replacement. You have years to live with a shoulder and that’s a complication,” said Dr. Armand Hatzidakis, orthopedic surgeon, at Rose Medical Center.

The ball will move, causing wear and tear, and patients end up needing a second replacement surgery, but the new pyrocarbon head has the same feel as bone.

“The biocarbon graphite substrate is a lot more like bone than metal is, so it cooperates better with the native bone. that’s the real breakthrough in the technology,” Hatzidakis said.

Now, Father Brown is not only back in the pulpit, but also physically stronger than he’s been in years.

“A year ago, my arms were shaking to do a pushup. Now, I have no problem. This Sunday, I’ll be holding the challis for 30 to 45 minutes,” Brown said.