• Johannes Gleich, Evi Fleischhacker, Christopher Lampert, Georg Siebenbürger, Ben Ockert, Wolfgang Böcker, and Tobias Helfen.
• Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Musculoskeletal University Center Munich (MUM) University Hospital, LMU Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany. Johannes.Gleich@med.uni-muenchen.de.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2025 Jan 20; 51 (1): 2929.

PurposeIf surgery is indicated for elderly patients suffering a proximal humerus fracture, reverse fracture arthroplasty became the preferred type of treatment due to its good and reliable outcomes over the last decade. Surgeons could choose from a wide range of implants and up to now there was no evaluation, if a change of the manufacturer affects patients` outcome.MethodsThe last 100 patients before and the first 100 after manufacturer change in reverse fracture arthroplasty were evaluated at a level one trauma center, all treated by only 3 senior shoulder surgeons. Clinical as well as radiographic outcome parameters were assessed, perioperative up to 24 months after surgery.ResultsMean age in both groups was nearly 80 years with comparable distribution of gender and comorbidities. A trend to shorter duration of surgery was observed after the change, mainly according to an uncemented fixation of the stem. During follow-up no significant differences, beneficial as well as negative, could be observed regarding clinical and radiographic outcome.ConclusionA manufacturer change on the fly is possible without negative consequences for patients` outcome. Expertise of the whole OR-team as well as standardized training with the new implant seems to be a more important factor than a specific type of implant.© 2025. The Author(s).

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