The early results of porous-coated total shoulder arthroplasty.

A porous-coated total shoulder arthroplasty of the authors' design was investigated over a period of six years. Thirteen of the first 21 arthroplasties, with an average follow-up period of three years, revealed the difficulty of proving stability by either bony or fibrous tissue ingrowth or both. With the exception of two patients (one glenoid and one humeral component), there was no gross evidence of radiographic loosening. Clinically, the early results were encouraging, but long-term follow-up observations are necessary before definitive conclusions are possible.