ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To compare outcomes of humeral shaft fractures fixed with locking compression plate and those fixed with dynamic compression plate in elderly patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen consecutive elderly patients with a fracture of the humeral diaphysis were evaluated retrospectively. Ten patients had been fixed with LC-DCP, and nine had been fixed with LCP. Radiological and clinical results were compared and comparison of implants was done. RESULTS: Loosening of the plate occurred in one case each from the LCP group and the LC-DCP group. The rest of the patients achieved union uneventfully without any complications. Union rate, clinical score and hardware were not significantly different between the two groups. One patient who developed loosening in the LC DCP underwent reoperation whereas one patient with loosening in the LCP was successfully managed conservatively. CONCLUSION: Principle of fracture fixation was more important than plate selection in humeral shaft fracture of elderly patient.