Minimally invasive intramedullary nailing of clavicular fractures by a new titanium elastic nail

Abstract

Objectives: To design a new titanium elastic nail (TEN) for displaced midshaft clavicular fractures treatment and investigate the clinical efficacy.
Patients and Methods: Between February 2012 and December 2013, total 36 patients with displaced midshaft clavicular fractures were treated by intramedullary nailing stabilization with our-self designed TEN. Various indexes were recorded, including blood loss, postoperative complications and mean times of operation, hospital stays and bone union. The surgical outcomes were evaluated by X-ray, visual analog scale (VAS) score, the Constant-Murley, and the disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) scores.
Results: The blood loss were 50.278 ± 10.753 ml while the mean time of operation time, hospital stays, bone union were 46.417 ± 9.232 min, 10.056 ± 2.672 days, 11.583 ± 2.729 weeks, respectively. After removing the TENs at a mean of 10.2 months (range, 8-13 months) after surgery, no re-fracture and nonunion was found in all patients. Two cases of shoulder back stabbing pain were spontaneously resolved later. Besides, one case of angular dislocation with 10º occurred postoperatively but without shortening displacement. Postoperative fracture healing time was 12 weeks. . The VAS score and motion ranges of shoulder joint were obviously improved postoperatively (P < 0.001). The shoulder function recovery showed the excellent results with the mean Constant-Murley score of 93.389 ± 2.749 and DASH scores of 2.528 ± 1.567.
Conclusion: The TEN used in intramedullary fixation might be a safe and effective technique for treatment of displaced midshaft clavicular fractures.

 

DOI: 10.3944/AOTT.2016.15.0342
This abstract belongs to the un-edited version of the article and is only for informative purposes. Published version may differ from the current version.

Keywords

• Displaced midshaft clavicular fractures;titanium elastic nail;minimally invasive treatment