In people who underwent hemiarthroplasty or reverse shoulder arthroplasty after a proximal humerus fracture, no effect of body mass index (BMI) on postoperative shoulder function, pain, complications and patient satisfaction was reported. Arta Yaqma et al. aimed to assess if BMI is linked with an elevated risk of complications or worsened postoperative shoulder function following shoulder arthroplasty in 233 people affected by proximal humeral fractures.

Data on gender, pre-and postoperative pain visual analog scale (VAS) score during activity and rest, age, pre-and postsurgery constant score (for evaluating overall shoulder function), BMI, postoperative complications and patient satisfaction were collected. A separate evaluation was carried out in reverse shoulder arthroplasty (n=94) and hemiarthroplasty (n=139) people.

Participants were segregated into 3 arms on the basis of their BMI: (i) Group I: It consisted of people having a BMI <25 kg/m2, (ii) Group II: It consisted of people having a BMI between 25-29,9 kg/m2, and (iii) Group III: It consisted of people having a BMI >30 kg/m2. In terms of postoperative complications and patient satisfaction, postoperative Constant score, postoperative pain score during activity, and postoperative VAS score during rest, no clinically meaningful difference was noted between the BMI groups.

Thus, BMI does not negatively influence the clinical outcomes following shoulder arthroplasty in people suffering from proximal humeral fractures.