The concept of bringing together the expertise needed to provide top class shoulder care is central to Dublin Shoulder Institute.  From our excellent administrative staff to our consultant surgeon, all staff members are focused on providing the patient with the very best experience.

The nurse specialist is a key member of our team who helps with all aspects of patient care and communication.  Our team has expanded to include a shoulder fellow (a fully trained orthopaedic surgeon who has chosen to spend a year working with Ms. Delaney for sub-specialist training in shoulder surgery) and an academic administrative assistant who coordinates our research efforts and our presence on the international stage, ensuring that we bring the best of world class shoulder care to Ireland.  

Our physiotherapist helps ensure that patients are optimally guided through rehabilitation, pre-operative preparation and post-operative recovery, as well as communicating with outside physiotherapists involved in the care of our patients.

DSI has had the privilege of hosting visiting surgeons from all over the world, having been chosen as a host site for the SECEC European Traveling Fellowship and the American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeons Traveling Fellowship.  Our visiting surgeons come to learn from us, but invariably we also learn from them and gain invaluable insights through discussions with our international colleagues, ensuring that DSI remains at the forefront of world class shoulder care.

Teamwork is at the heart of what we do.  We strongly believe that the best patient outcomes are achieved when a dedicated team of skilled professionals come together to provide care.  We are lucky to have a fantastic team here at DSI to take care of our patients.  Communication is key. Our team will regularly be in contact with your own local caregivers throughout your shoulder journey - your GP, your physiotherapist and anyone else you wish to keep informed.  

Consultant Shoulder Surgeon: Ms. Ruth Delaney 

Nurse Specialist: Nikki Mallon

Physiotherapist:  

Practice Manager: Suzie Maxwell

Administrative Assistant: Danielle Roche

Administrative Assistant: Heather McCann

Asking questions and seeking answers is a fundamental part of advancing the quality of what we do. Research is therefore an important aspect of our shoulder practice. In addition, recording and reporting patient outcomes is the only honest way to show value in what we do.

All patients who undergo surgery are offered the opportunity to enrol in OBERD which allows each patient to report scores that reflect their pain and function before surgery and at various points after surgery during their rehabilitation.  This allows us to keep a close eye on each patient's progress, and also to compare an individual patient's progress to our practice average and to global averages.  We therefore know that our standards are on a par with international standards, and we are able to pick up any potential problems early and put in place solutions.

We are fortunate to have international relationships that allow for rewarding collaborations in research, which ultimately lead to better care for our patients.  We have recently set up a collaborative effort with Queensland Unit for Advanced Shoulder Research (QUASR) in Brisbane, Australia.

Ms. Delaney has published widely in the peer-reviewed literature on shoulder conditions and shoulder surgery, as well as currently working on design teams on projects for new shoulder replacement implants and sports medicine projects particularly in the area of shoulder instability.  

We have ongoing studies in the area of shoulder instability, in particular around return to play of collision athletes after shoulder stabilisation surgery.  This work is done in collaboration with the Sports Surgery Clinic physiotherapy department and its Return to Play programme

Ms. Delaney has published multiple peer-reviewed articles, reviews and book chapters, and has given presentations at a number of international conferences. In 2014, she won the premier research award in shoulder surgery, the Charles S. Neer Award, for work on shoulder instability surgery.

Selected publications include:

• Accepted for publication 5/2024 Shaoyu Xu S, Hollman F, Romal C Stewart RC, Delaney R, Joma MN, Ingoe H, Pareyon R, Shulman R, Sanjay Dhupelia S, Li AY, Whitehouse S, Maharaj J, Cameron Brown C, Pivonka P, Gupta A.

Qualitative analysis of the Supraspinatus muscle fatty infiltration on MRI - Correlation of the Tangent sign with Goutallier grade at the Y view and Medial Scapular border in large retracted rotator cuff tears. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery

• QUASR Collaborative; Gupta A, Hollman F, Delaney R, Jomaa MN, Ingoe H, Pareyon R, Shulman RM, Dhupelia S, Yihe Li A, En-Hui Tok A, Samsuya KK, Xu S, Salhi A, Alzubaidi L, Whitehouse SL, Pivonka P, Gu Y, Maharaj J, Cutbush K.

Medial Scapular Body (MSB) Goutallier Classification - MRI based reliability and validity of evaluation of the Goutallier classification for grading fatty infiltration of the rotator cuff. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2024 Jun 27:S1058-2746(24)00459-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2024.05.013. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38944373. 

• Devlin R, Delaney RA.

Rational use of shoulder MRI in the private setting: specialist-ordered MRIs influence clinical management significantly more often than primary care physicians.

Ir J Med Sci.2020 Sep 29. doi: 10.1007/s11845-020-02379-0.

• Fahey CJ, Delaney RA.

Exploring expert variability in defining pseudoparalysis: An international survey.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2020 Sep 9:S1058-2746(20)30709-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2020.08.029.

• Ferrando A, Kingston R, Delaney RA.

Superior capsular reconstruction using a porcine dermal xenograft for irreparable rotator cuff tears: outcomes at minimum two-year follow up.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg.2020 Sep 2:S1058-2746(20)30693-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2020.08.020.

• Schumaier A, Abboud J, Grawe B, Horneff JG, Getz C, Romeo A, Keener J, Friedman R, Yian E, Muh S, Nicholson G,Delaney R, Otto R, William W, Tokish JT, Williams G, Kazanjian J, Dines J, Ramsey M, Green A, Paxton S, Namdari S, Flanagin B, Hasan S, Kaar S, Miniaci A, Cuomo F.

Evaluating Glenohumeral Arthritis: The Relative Impact of Patient Age, Activity Level, Symptoms, and Kellgren-Lawrence Grade on Treatment.

Arch Bone Jt Surg. 2019; 7(2): 151-60.

• RA Delaney, RW Simovitch, LR Miller, LD Higgins.

Arthroscopic Capsular Releases for Loss of Motion.

 In Operative Techniques in Sports Medicine Surgery. Wolters Kluwer January 2016.

 Eds: Sam W. Wiesel, Mark D. Miller. ISBN/ISSN: 9781451193015.

• A Gupta, R Delaney, K Petkin, Lafosse L.

Complications of the Latarjet Procedure.

Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2015 Mar;8(1):59-66. doi: 10.1007/s12178-015-9258-y.

• BE Morrissey, RA Delaney, AJ Johnstone, L Petrovick, RM Smith.

Do Trauma Systems Work? A comparison of major trauma outcomes between Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Injury. 2015 Jan;46(1):150-5. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2014.08.048.

• RA Delaney,MT Freehill, DR Janfaza, KV Vlassakov, LD Higgins, JJP Warner.

2014 Neer Award Paper: Neuromonitoring the Latarjet Procedure.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg.2014 Oct;23(10):1473-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.04.003.

• RA Delaney, MT Freehill, LD Higgins, JJP Warner.

Durability of Partial Humeral Head Resurfacing.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2014 Jan;23(1):e14-22. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2013.05.001.

• P Vavken, P Sadoghi, J Quidde, R Lucas, R Delaney, AM Müller, C Rosso, V Valderrabano.

Immobilization in internal or external rotation does not change recurrence rates after traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2014 Jan;23(1):13-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2013.07.037.

• AM Muller, P Sadoghi, R Lucas, L Audige, RDelaney, M Klein, V Valderrabano, P Vavken.

Effectiveness of Bracing in the Treatment of Nonosseous Restriction of Elbow Mobility: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 studies.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2013 Aug;22(8):1146-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2013.04.003.

• RA Delaney,A Lin, JD Tompson, JJP Warner.

Non-arthroplasty Options for the Management of Massive and Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears.   Clin Sports Med. 2012; 31(4):727-48.

• DM Hampton, RA Delaney, LD Higgins.

Massive Rotator Cuff Tears.

            in Orthopaedic Knowledge Update: Shoulder and Elbow 4.  American Academy of

Orthopaedic Surgeons August 2013. Ed: Gregory P. Nicholson. ISBN/ISSN: 9780892039555.

• RA Delaney, A Burns, JB Emans.

Arteriovenous Fistula after a Closed Proximal Tibial Fracture in a Child.

J Bone Joint Surg Br2011 93(10):1424-6

• R Delaney, M Albright, G Rebello.

Utilization of the Safe Surgical Dislocation Approach of the Hip to Retrieve a Bullet from the Femoral Head.

Case Rep Orthop. 2011;160591. doi: 10.1155/2011/160591

• RA Delaney, E Falvey, S Kalimuthu, MJ Molloy, P Fleming.

Orthopaedic Admissions due to Sports & Recreation Injuries

Ir Med J.2009;102(2):40-42.

•  RA Delaney, B Lenehan, L O’Sullivan, JT Street, AJ McGuinness.

The Limping Child: an algorithm to outrule musculoskeletal sepsis.

Abstract - J Bone Joint Surg Br, 2006 88-B: 437. Full Paper – Ir J Med Sci.2007;176(3):181-7.