Reliability of the glenoid plane

Hypothesis rpose of this study was to investigate the 3-dimensional (3-D) orientation of the glenoid and scapular planes. Different definitions of the glenoid plane were used and different planes measured, and we hypothesed that the 3-D plane with the least variation would be best to define the most reliable glenoid plane. s died 150 CT scans from nonpathological shoulders from patients between 18 and 80. The scapular plane and 5 different glenoid planes were determined: inferior, anterior, posterior, superior, and neutral. All plane versions and inclination angles were measured. Because all examinations were done in a standardized position to the coronal, sagittal, and transverse planes of the body, the scapular plane could be defined versus the coronal, sagittal, and transverse planes of the body. s rsion (mean, 3.76) of the inferior glenoid plane showed a significantly lower standard deviation than the version of the anterior (P < .001), posterior (P = .001), and superior (P = .001) glenoid plane (ANOVA). For inclination all planes have a similar variance. The scapular plane was different between gender (P = .022) and correlated with age. sion tudy showed that the retroversion of the inferior glenoid is reasonably constant. The osseous anthropometry of the inferior glenoid can offer a reproducible point of reference to be used in prosthetic surgery of the shoulder.