{"id":146924,"date":"2026-01-02T18:18:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T23:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=146924"},"modified":"2026-01-02T18:18:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T23:18:51","slug":"st-lukes-joins-national-study-on-new-shoulder-replacement-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=146924","title":{"rendered":"St. Luke\u2019s Joins National Study on New Shoulder Replacement Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Luke\u2019s is the only health care system in the Lehigh Valley chosen for this innovative research.<\/em><\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network has been selected as the only health care system in the Lehigh Valley, and one of just a few nationwide, to take part in a major clinical trial studying a new shoulder replacement design called the INHANCE\u2122 Shoulder System by DePuy Synthes.<\/p>\n

This research will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the INHANCE Shoulder System, which uses a stemless design instead of the traditional metal stem placed inside the arm bone. By removing the stem, the procedure may help preserve more natural bone and reduce bone loss, which could be important for patients who might need another surgery in the future.<\/p>\n

The study is for patients who need a reverse total shoulder replacement because of a gross rotator cuff deficiency and severe pain and loss of function caused by conditions like osteoarthritis. These issues can make everyday activities difficult and greatly affect quality of life. Participation in the study is a decision made together by the patient and surgeon.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gregory Carolan, an orthopedic surgeon with St. Luke\u2019s Orthopedic Care, performed the first procedure in the Lehigh Valley at St. Luke\u2019s Orthopedic Hospital at the West End Campus. DePuy Synthes invited Dr. Carolan to join the study because of his national reputation and extensive experience with complex shoulder surgeries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to be part of this important research,\u201d said Dr. Carolan. \u201cThe stemless design could be a big step forward in shoulder replacement because it preserves more of the patient\u2019s natural bone, which is especially important for long-term results.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s participation in this study highlights its commitment to bringing advanced orthopedic care to the region.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than $4.5 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n

The Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest continuously operated School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 50+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 500+ residents and fellows.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized St. Luke\u2019s ahead of nationally renowned Mayo Clinic and Houston Methodist as the nation\u2019s three highest performing health systems for quality, safety and patient experience \u2013 affirming St. Luke\u2019s status as a leader among the largest and best-known health care providers in the country.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. It is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. In 2025, the Network earned straight A\u2019s from Leapfrog across all of its acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 11 years in a row, including in 2021 when its flagship University Hospital was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St. Luke\u2019s is the only health care system in the Lehigh Valley chosen for this innovative research. St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network has been selected as the only health care … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s Joins National Study on New Shoulder Replacement Technology<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/shoulder-replacement.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=146924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/146925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=146924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=146924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=146924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}