Domenici has shoulder replaced

BALTIMORE, June 30 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has undergone shoulder replacement surgery to ease nerve damage and arthritis in his right arm, doctors said.

Domenici, 77, is expected to spend the next few days at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore recovering from Monday's reverse shoulder replacement, the Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday.

The surgery replaced key structures in the shoulder but reversed the positions of the ball-and-socket to enhance the joint's stability and range of motion, the hospital's Web site said.

"Ninety-nine percent of our patients get pain relief and say they wish they'd done it sooner," said Dr. Ed McFarland, a Johns Hopkins doctor who specializes in reverse shoulder surgery.

Domenici had suffered from nerve damage and arthritis in his right arm for nearly a decade. Domenici in 2007 was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease. He served 36 years in the U.S. Senate before retiring this year.