ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the clinical outcomes of primary repair of bony and ligamentous components in treatment of Mason-Johnston type Ⅳ radial head fractures.Methods From August 2007 to November 2011,16 cases of Mason-Johnston type Ⅳ radial head fractures were treated by open reduction and screw or plate fixation combined with simultaneous repair of ruptured capsular ligaments with suture anchors.There were 11 men and 5 women with a mean age of 31.6 years (range,18-52 years).Totally,left side was involved in seven cases and right side in nine； dominant side was involved in 13 cases and non-prominent side in three.Time from injury to operation averaged 6.2 days (range,2-11 days).Nine cases of partial articular fractures with 2 or 3 fragments were treated with 1.5 mm or 2.0 mm AO miniscrews and seven cases of complete articular fractures with 2-4 fragments were treated with 2.0 mm AO mini plastic plates and screws after reduction.Active and assisted functional exercise was instructed in the early period after surgery.Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Broberg-Morrey elbow performance were measured for function assessment at the latest follow-up.Results Follow-up averaged 22.6 months (range,12-38 months),which showed primary wound healing without infection.All fractures achieved bony union at an average of 4.8 months (range,3.3-6.2 months).Ten out of the 16 cases,four of partial articular fractures and six of complete articular fractures,had slight but asymptomatic ossification in the medial and lateral collateral ligament attachment.There were two excellent,six good and one fair results in partial articular fracture group,with excellent-good rate of 89％ as well as one excellent,four good and two fair results in complete articular fracture group,with excellent-good rate of 72％.Moreover,the total excellentgood rate reached 81％.Range of motion in extension,flexion and rotation,Broberg-Morrey score and VAS presented statistical differences between partial and complete articular fracture groups (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Primary management of bony and ligamentous components to treat Mason-Johnston type Ⅳ radial head fractures brings timely three-dimensional stability of the elbow joint,favors early functional exercise and further decreases incidence of postoperative complications,such as elbow stiffness,pain and heterotopic ossification.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo analyze the therapeutic effect of open reduction with internal fixation (ORIF) and anatomic reconstruction locking plate in treatment of Neer 3-part and 4-part fracture dislocations of proximal humerus.MethodsThe study involved 30 patients with Neer 3-part and 4-part fracture dislocations treated with anatomic reconstruction locking plate from September 2004 to December 2007.Twenty patients had complete follow-up data.The treatment methods included locking proximal humeral plate (LPHP) in seven patients and proximal humeral internal locking system (PHILOS) in 13.There were 15 males and five females,at age range of 29-84 years (average 52.5 years),including nine patients younger than 65 years and 11 older than 65 years.According to Neer classification,there were 15 patients with 3-part fracture dislocations including 12 anterior and three posterior dislocations and five patients with 4-part fracture dislocations including four anterior and one posterior dislocations. VAS and Constant scoring system were adopted to evaluate the shoulder joint function postoperatively. Results All 20 patients were followed up for 36-71 months ( average 51 months),which showed avascular necrosis of humeral head in six patients (30％),plating loosening in two,screw penetration in six,nonunion in two and infection in two.The mean visual analogue score (VAS) was 2.55 poiuts and the mean Constant score for the shoulder was 80.8.According to the Neer shoulder functional evaluation standard,eight patients were graded as excellent,six as good,three as fair and three as poor,with excellence rate of 70％.ConclusionsAlthough the anatomic reconstruction locking plate and ORIF can cause a high incidence of avascular necrosis of humeral head in the treatment of Neer 3-part and 4-part fracture dislocations of proximal humerus,especially for the patients older than 65 years.However,there is no obvious correlation between necrosis of humeral head and shoulder function.Clinically,the method could be selected on the ba-sis of individual condition of the patients.