WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

AS WITH any shoulder replacement, there’s a small chance of excessive bleeding, a blood clot and infection, in which case the entire implant may need to be removed.

THERE is also a risk of fracture or that the shoulder could dislocate; and a small possibility of nerve damage.

‘IT WILL be years before we know this method works,’ says Duncan Learmonth, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Spire Parkway Hospital, Solihull.

‘Yet it would stand to reason that, particularly for the socket of the shoulder joint, where you can’t see all of it even when it’s exposed during surgery, computerised navigation should help.’