A prospective study on clinical outcome following surgically managed displaced clavicle fractures using pre-contoured locking plate and screws

Abstract

Background: Most acute displaced clavicular fractures conventionally have been treated non-operatively with the expectation of a high probability of fracture union, good functional outcomes, and a high level of patient satisfaction. However, the outcome of non-operative treatment is not as favorable as once thought and there has been a growing trend to treat these fractures surgically. We studied the clinical outcome of displaced clavicle fractures managed surgically by pre-contoured locking plate and screws. Materials & methods: A prospective study was carried out between October 2015 and June 2017 in SS Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre Davanagere, Karnataka where 50 patients with displaced clavicle fractures were treated surgically by pre-contoured locking plate & screws. They were followed up for a minimum period of 2 years by the main author and evaluated for clinical outcome using dash score and constant moreley score. Results: Out of 50 cases 42 cases had excellent results without complications & 5 patients had good result without complications. 2 cases which were going for delayed union were treated with bone grafting and 1 case, where the plate was exposed on the medial aspect at 2 months follow up, plate was removed and wound was closed in layers. Conclusion: In our study of displaced clavicle fractures, which were effectively treated surgically with pre-contoured locking plate & screws gave excellent results & to be considered one of the best surgical modality for displaced clavicle fracture management.