Replacing the entire shoulder joint is called a total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). Removing only one-half of the joint is a hemiarthroplasty.

The decision to replace part or all of a joint is made when the doctor looks inside the joint and sees the damage. A study at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation reports that a patient with decreased outward rotational motion will do better with a TSA. Likewise, severe bone damage and thinning requires a TSA.

Patients with a stable joint that doesn’t dislocate do well with a hemiarthroplasty.