Surgical treatment of acromiodavicular dislocation (Tossy III) with coracoclavicular screw and clavicular hook plate fixation:a comparative study

Abstract

：Objective To compareclinical outcomes of clavicular hook plate and coracoclavicu-lar screw fixation intreatment of acrmioclavicular dislocation (Tossy Ⅲ). Methods From August 2003to January 2008,38 patients with acromioclavicular dislocation (Tossy Ⅲ)were randomly divided into two groups that were treated with coracoclavicular screw andclavicular hook plate fixation respective-ly. The range of shoulder movement wasrestricted after operation until the fixation was removed three months later. The shoulderfunction was evaluated by using Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) sco-ring system. Thefunctional scores were compared before and after removal of the internal fixation in twogroups. Results All patients were followed up, which showed no statistical difference uponfinal shoulder function of two groups. There was no loosening or migration of internalfixators. No redislocation occurred after removal of internal fixations. Seven patientscomplained shoulder pain and three had severe shoulder pain affecting sleep quality incoracoclavicular screw group. The pain was alleviated after remov-al of fixation.Conclusions Coraeeclavicular screw and clavicular hook plate fixation have similarclinical effect in treatment of acromioclavicular dislocation (Tossy Ⅲ), with satisfactory recovery ofshoul-der function. Many complications of acromioclavicular fixations can be avoided byrestriction of shoulder movement after operation and early functional exercise afterremoval of fixation. Key words: Acromioclavieularjoint; Dislocation; Internal fixators