At the hospital, the 74-year-old was diagnosed with a proximal humerus fracture -- the humerus being the upper bone of the arm.

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In other words, a new metal "ball" is attached to the shoulder blade, or scapula, and a plastic cup is put at the upper end of the humerus bone.

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Unlike in a healthy shoulder, where the humerus ends in a ball shape and fits into the shoulder blade to form a shoulder, in reverse shoulder replacement surgery the anatomy is reversed.

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He was diagnosed with a proximal humerus fracture -- the humerus being the upper bone of the arm -- and as a result underwent what the Supreme Court said was reverse shoulder replacement surgery Saturday morning.

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