Percutaneous pinning of proximal humerus fractures

Abstract

Displaced proximal humerus fractures remain a therapeutic challenge to the treating orthopedic surgeon. It is generally agreed that most displaced 4-part fractures and head-splitting fractures are best treated with hemiarthroplasty, but there are numerous surgical techniques for the treatment of displaced 2- and 3-part fractures, as well as valgus-impacted 4-part fractures. One treatment method is closed reduction and percutaneous pinning that provides the benefit of obtaining and holding adequate reduction without the soft-tissue dissection of open reduction and internal fixation. The indications, technique, results, and complications of this method are discussed in this article.