Operative treatment of the unstable scapular neck fracture

Abstract

Objective To explore factors influencing the restdts of operative treatment of unstable scapular neck fractures. Methods We reviewed 15 patients who had been diagnosed as the unstable scapular neck fracture and received operation from June 2001 to November 2007 in our department. Of them, 13 had full follow-up data, with a mean follow-up time of 45.1 (10 to 90) months. There were 8 cases of anatomic scapular neck fracture and 5 cases of surgical scapular neck fracture combined with injury to the superior shoulder suspensory complex. The shoulder posterior approach was adopted, exposing the fracture site between the in-fraspinatus and teres minors interval, to fix the scapular neck fracture along the scapular lateral border and si-multaneously fix the combined clavicle fracture, dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint and acromial process fracture. The results were evaluated by the absolute value of Constant-Murley rating system. Results The average absolute Constant-Murley score was 81.2 (40-98) points. Nine cases were evaluated as excellent and good, 2 cases as fair, and 2 cases as poor. The average forward elevation was 147.7°. Conclusions The degree of displacement is the main factor affecting the prognosis of the scapular neck fracture. Reduction and fixation of the displaced scapular neck fracture is the key to achieving good results. Key words: Shoulder fracture; Shoulder joint; Fracture fixation, internal