Stryker: A better humeral stem?
Stryker’s ReUnion S humeral stem (Image from Stryker)
Stryker introduced a redesigned ReUnion S humeral stem to improve bone preservation, alignment and stability in shoulder arthroplasty. Certain humeral short stems have been associated with unacceptably high rates of malalignment, loosening, shortening, increased proximal bulk and other adverse bone reactions, according to a statement by the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company. Stryker says the new humeral stem is “more anatomically relevant.”
The company did some internal studies and determined that the ReUnion S:
- Preserves more bone mass proximally and distally compared to competitive stems. Keeping the wedge shape proximal body may give the user better soft-tissue management rather than limiting it by the stem design.
- Improves alignment to avoid varus/valgus placement of the stem.
- Boosts stability because the enhanced medial sweep of the stem avoids distal engagement while the alignment focuses length and incremental distal sizing options prevent canal migration. The S stem is designed to retain the alignment and stability benefits of a longer humeral stem prosthesis.
