Case Report
Synovial cutaneous fistula complicating a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radcr.2016.02.014Get rights and content
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Abstract

Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty is becoming a common form of shoulder arthroplasty that is often performed in the setting of rotator cuff pathology. Infection is a rare complication but is more common in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty than in hemiarthroplasty or anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty. We present the case of a 69-year-old patient with a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty who presented with purulent drainage from the skin of his anterior shoulder. Computed tomography arthrogram confirmed the presence of a synovial cutaneous fistula. Synovial cutaneous fistula is a rare variant of periprosthetic infection that, to our knowledge, has not been described previously in the setting of a reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. Computed tomography arthrogram proved to be a reliable method for confirming the diagnosis and was used for operative planning to remove the hardware.

Keywords

Synovial cutaneous fistula
Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty
Infection

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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.