The First Report of Transcatheter Artery Embolization for Frozen Shoulder

(Published: March 12th, 2014)

Title: Short-term results of transcatheter arterial embolization for abnormal neovessels in patients with adhesive capsulitis: a pilot study

We have been performing transcatheter artery embolization for patients with frozen shoulder since 2012.

The first report was submitted in 2014 to Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, a popular medical journal ready by shoulder and elbow physicians over the world.

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

This is a completely new treatment, so it is not possible to treat a lot of people all of sudden.

In this report, 7 patients were treated and observed for six months after the treatment.

For those who have tried a variety of treatments and have not been cured, we suggested this new treatment and examined whether this is effective enough or not for them, of course with high level of safety.

This type of study is called a pilot study as it may lead the following studies.

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

When I published this research paper, I received some questions like “Is this really effective?” (this always happens in a part of new treatment development)

However, now I receive many reports of this treatment not only from domestic, but also from overseas that they confirmed that this treatment is effective.

From 2016 to 2017, there were more than 100 patients suffering from frozen shoulder had the transcatheter artery embolization in four hospitals in Japan including a university hospital.

The paper presented here was the starting point for this new movement.

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

Above pictures are comparing blood vessels in normal shoulder (left picture) and abnormal blood vessels in a patient who had frozen shoulder (center and right).

In this research, I reported that patients suffering from frozen shoulder had abnormal blood vessels in their body.

Also, they told us that they could get rid of nighttime pain, called nocturnal pain through this treatment.

I hope that this treatment will help many people in pain. When I wrote this research paper, I really wished and still want many doctors to be aware of this treatment.

Even only gradually, it is very great that the treatment is spreading both in Japan and abroad.