Evaluation of the Acromioclavicular Joint Morphology for Minimizing Subacromial Erosion after Surgical Fixation of the Joint Using a Clavicular Hook Plate

BACKGROUND: Subacromial erosion remains a major concern after surgical fixation of acromioclavicular (AC) joint using a clavicular hook plate. To minimize postoperative subacromial erosion, we investigated the structural relationship between distal clavicle and acromion around the AC joint by considering the surgical fixation of the joint using the hook plate technique. METHODS: Computed tomography scans of 101 AC joints without any inherent pathology were analyzed. The angle between the distal clavicle and acromion around the AC joint (AC angle), depth of the acromion, differences in height between distal clavicle and acromion (AC height difference), and thickness of distal clavicle and acromion at the AC joint were measured. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each anatomical parameter, and all results were compared between gender groups. RESULTS: The mean AC angle was 17.1°(range, −8.0° to 39.0°), and the mean AC height difference was 3.5 mm (range, −0.7 to 8.7 mm). Both factors showed very high variability (coefficients of variation=62.6% and 46.6%, respectively). The mean AC angle was significantly higher in the female gender than in the male gender (19.8° vs. 13.8°, p=0.048). The mean acromion thickness and distal clavicular thickness were both significantly thinner in the female group than in the male group (p < 0.001) CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, we believe our results might be helpful in minimizing postoperative subacromial erosion when performing surgical fixation of the AC joint using the hook plate, and be valuable in improving future design of the hook plate.

Gossypiboma Mimicking a Soft Tissue Tumor / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Paraspinal or extremity foreign-body reactions are a rare disease, which could be caused by foreign bodies to prevent intraoperative bleeding and can result in severe complications or death. However, they are often neglected. We report three cases of paraspinal and parapelvic gossypiboma mimicking a soft tissue tumor on magnetic resonance imaging, which were diagnosed and treated by surgical excision.