Ultimate fracture load of cadaver proximal humeri correlates more strongly with mean combined cortical thickness than with areal cortical index, DEXA density, or canal-to-calcar ratio.

OBJECTIVES: This investigation sought to advance the work published in our prior biomechanical study (Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 2016). We specifically sought to determine whether there are additional easy-to-measure parameters on plain radiographs of the proximal humerus that correlate more strongly with ultimate fracture load, and whether a parameter resembling the Dorr strength/quality characterisation of proximal femurs can be applied to humeri. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 33 adult humeri were used from a previous study where we quantified bone mineral density of the proximal humerus using radiographs and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and regional mean cortical thickness and cortical index using radiographs. The bones were fractured in a simulated backwards fall with the humeral head loaded at 2 mm/second via a frustum angled at 30° from the long axis of the bone. Correlations were assessed with ultimate fracture load and these new parameters: cortical index expressed in areas ("areal cortical index") of larger regions of the diaphysis; the canal-to-calcar ratio used analogous to its application in proximal femurs; and the recently described medial cortical ratio. RESULTS: The three new parameters showed the following correlations with ultimate fracture load: areal cortical index (r = 0.56, p < 0.001); canal-to-calcar ratio (r = 0.38, p = 0.03); and medial cortical ratio (r = 0.49, p < 0.005). These correlations were weaker when compared with those that we previously reported: mean cortical thickness of the proximal diaphysis versus ultimate fracture load (r = 0.71; p < 0.001); and mean density in the central humeral head versus ultimate fracture load (r = 0.70; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Simple-to-measure radiographic parameters of the proximal humerus reported previously are more useful in predicting ultimate fracture load than are areal cortical index, canal-to-calcar ratio, and medial cortical ratio.Cite this article: J. G. Skedros, C. S. Mears, W. Z. Burkhead. Ultimate fracture load of cadaver proximal humeri correlates more strongly with mean combined cortical thickness than with areal cortical index, DEXA density, or canal-to-calcar ratio. Bone Joint Res 2017;6:1-7. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.61.BJR-2016-0145.R1.

Early glenohumeral arthritis in the competing athlete.

Early glenohumeral degeneration is, at best, a difficult condition for the competing athlete. This is especially true of athletes who participate in overhead sports of baseball, tennis, swimming, and volleyball. However, competitors in football, basketball, and soccer may also find themselves saddled with severe posttraumatic, post-reconstruction, or primary cartilage loss in their shoulders. Unfortunately, this may lead to impeded performance, and, ultimately, derailed careers.

Results of decompression and rotator cuff repair in patients 65 years old and older: 6- to 14-year follow-up.

At an average of 9.2 years after surgery, 47 patients with 51 shoulders who had undergone rotator cuff repair and subacromial decompression through an open Rockwood 2-stage acromioplasty-type approach were reviewed. All patients were 65 years or older at the time of their initial index procedure. Results were rated by patient satisfaction, the Constant's score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Evaluation, and Neer rating. Subjectively, the patients were highly satisfied, with a 94.1 overall satisfaction rate. Objectively, the average Constant's score was 82 when normalized to the opposite shoulder and age. According to the Neer rating scale, there were 20 (39%) excellent, 26 (51%) satisfactory, and 5 (10%) unsatisfactory results. When assessing the ASES Evaluation, the patients who had undergone an extensile deltotrapezial takedown had increased strength in their lateral deltoid as compared with a cohort of individuals who had undergone the VY exposure. There was no statistically significant difference in subjective or objective results. For the most part, open rotator cuff repair and subacromial decompression in older patients has a high level of success with respect to pain relief, independent living, and when desired, reasonable sports participation.

Technique for repair of the subscapularis tendon.

Patients with sudden loss of active motion after an external rotation or hyperextension injury should be viewed with a high index of suspicion for a subscapularis tear. Exaggerated external rotation and the presence of a positive lift off or belly press test on physical examination combined with appropriate imaging studies will lead to an early diagnosis. Careful surgical repair combined with a thoughtful rehabilitation program will lessen both the length and degree of disability from this clinical entity.

Revision surgery after failed subacromial decompression.

The purpose of this study was to assess the results of revision subacromial decompression and identify clinical and psychological factors that influence its outcome. Thirty-five patients with intact rotator cuffs who underwent surgery for recurrent stage II impingement were studied at a mean follow-up time of 43 months post-surgery. Twenty-seven patients were satisfied with their surgery. The UCLA Scoring System rated 18 of 35 with good/excellent results and 17 of 35 poor/fair results, 22 patients had worker's compensation injuries, which correlated with poor outcome (P=0.0067). Patients with concomitant brachial plexopathy and/or compressive neuropathies were associated with unsatisfactory results (P=0.02).

Nonoperative treatment of rotator cuff tears.

Rotator cuff tears and subacromial impingement are second only to acromioclavicular joint disorders as the most common causes of shoulder pain. Although most orthopedic surgeons are willing to initially treat shoulder impingement syndrome conservatively, they are reluctant to manage rotator cuff tears-especially full-thickness tears-nonoperatively. The purpose of this article is to explain the biomechanical rationale of nonoperative treatment, review the literature pertaining to nonoperative treatment of full-thickness rotator cuff tears, and describe a nonoperative treatment program.

Tendon ruptures about the shoulder.

Although degeneration and strain of musculotendinous structures are frequent causes of shoulder pain, sudden violent injuries in young individuals can lead to complete musculotendinous ruptures. Some of these conditions lend themselves well to nonoperative treatment. This article will enable the physician to determine the clinical diagnosis and formulate a treatment plan for each patient as an individual. Some patients may be satisfied with an accurate diagnosis only, while others demand more aggressive operative care.

The rotator cuff-deficient arthritic shoulder: diagnosis and surgical management.

The symptomatic rotator cuff-deficient, arthritic glenohumeral joint poses a complex problem for the orthopaedic surgeon. Surgical management can be facilitated by classifying the disorder in one of three diagnostic categories: (1) rotator cuff-tear arthropathy, (2) rheumatoid arthritic shoulder with cuff deficiency, or (3) degenerative arthritic (osteoarthritic) shoulder with cuff deficiency. If it is not possible to repair the cuff defect, surgical management may include prosthetic arthroplasty, with the recognition that only limited goals are attainable, particularly with respect to strength and active motion. Glenohumeral arthrodesis is a salvage procedure when other surgical measures have failed. Arthrodesis is also indicated in patients with deltoid muscle deficiency. Humeral hemiarthroplasty avoids the complications of glenoid loosening and is an attractive alternative to arthrodesis, resection arthroplasty, and total shoulder arthroplasty. The functionally intact coracoacromial arch should be preserved to reduce the risk of anterosuperior subluxation. Care should be taken not to "overstuff" the gleno-humeral joint with a prosthetic component. In cases of significant internal rotation contracture, subscapularis lengthening is necessary to restore anterior and posterior rotator cuff balance. If the less stringent criteria of Neer's "limited goals" rehabilitation are followed, approximately 80% to 90% of patients treated with humeral hemiarthroplasty can have satisfactory results.

Biologic resurfacing of the glenoid with hemiarthroplasty of the shoulder.

A porous-coated humeral head replacement with biologic resurfacing of the glenoid was performed in 14 patients between 1989 and 1992. Six of the 14 patients had greater than 2 years of follow-up and form the basis of this report. The patients ranged in age from 33 to 54 years. Diagnoses were osteoarthritis in one, postreconstruction arthritis in four, and posttraumatic arthritis in one. The biologic resurfacing was done with either autogenous fascia lata or anterior shoulder capsule. All patients were relieved of pain. Average postoperative positions were elevation 138 degrees, external rotation 50 degrees, and internal rotation to the T12 spinous process. These results represent average increases of 57 degrees, 45 degrees, and six spinal segments, respectively. No donor site complications occurred. With Neer's rating scale there were five excellent results and one satisfactory result. We conclude that biologic resurfacing of the glenoid appears to improve the results of hemiarthroplasty and may well be the procedure of choice for young patients with end-stage glenohumeral arthritis.

Débridement of degenerative, irreparable lesions of the rotator cuff.

A modified Neer acromioplasty, subacromial decompression, and débridement of massive, irreparable lesions of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons was performed in fifty-seven patients. Fifty patients (fifty-three shoulders) were followed for an average of six and one-half years. The average age of the patients was sixty years (range, thirty-eight to seventy-four years). The results, as rated on the basis of pain, function, range of motion, strength, and satisfaction of the patient, were satisfactory in forty-four shoulders (83 per cent) and unsatisfactory in nine (17 per cent). A favorable outcome was observed in shoulders in which both the anterior portion of the deltoid muscle and the long head of the biceps tendon were intact and in which a previous acromioplasties or operations on the rotator cuff had been performed. An unsatisfactory outcome was observed in shoulders in which the anterior part of the deltoid muscle was weak or absent or in which a previous acromioplasty and attempted repair of the rotator cuff had been performed. The active forward flexion of the shoulder improved from an average of 105 degrees preoperatively to an average of 140 degrees postoperatively. The results of the present study suggest that, with proper rehabilitation, adequate decompression of the subacromial space, anterior acromioplasty, and débridement of massive tears of the rotator cuff can lead to the relief of pain and the restoration of shoulder function.

Acromial fracture: A complication of arthroscopic subacromial decompression.

For many surgeons arthroscopic subacromial decompression has replaced open surgery for the treatment of refractory impingement syndrome. A newly recognized complication of this procedure is fracture of the acromion process. Six patients presented with reports of increasing postoperative shoulder pain, commonly with a history of sudden onset during physical therapy. Diagnosis was frequently delayed; three of the six fractures were identifiable only on axillary radiographs. Disability varied from mild pain to severe functional impairment, depending on fracture size and location. Treatment modalities ranged from total acromionecfomy to conservative measures; most results were poor. These cases suggest that: (1) risk factors for experiencing an acromial fracture include osteopenia and overzealous bone resection; (2) surgical correction of the fracture may not satisfactorily resolve associated pain and loss of range of motion; and (3) emphasis on appropriate preoperative planning and meticulous surgical technique to minimize bony resection may decrease the risk of this compficafion and its resultant disability.

Treatment of instability of the shoulder with an exercise program.

One hundred and forty shoulders in 115 patients that had a diagnosis of traumatic or atraumatic recurrent anterior, posterior, or multidirectional subluxation were treated with a specific set of muscle-strengthening exercises. Only twelve (16 per cent) of the seventy-four shoulders (sixty-eight patients) that had traumatic subluxation had a good or excellent result from the exercises, compared with fifty-three (80 per cent) of the sixty-six shoulders that had atraumatic subluxation. For this reason, each patient who has instability of the shoulder should be thoroughly evaluated if a successful result from conservative treatment is to be expected. Every effort must be made to identify the etiology of the instability through careful history-taking, physical examination, and radiographic evaluation.

Surgical anatomy of the axillary nerve.

Any surgical approach that splits the deltoid puts the axillary nerve at risk secondary to extension from traction or sharp dissection. Standard texts an anatomy and chapters on surgical approaches frequently state the axillary nerve comes to lie approximately 2 inches from the acromion. However, a large series of cadavers of varying sex and size on which these measurements had been obtained could not be found in an extensive literature search. Fifty-one embalmed cadaveric specimens representing 102 shoulders were dissected in the static portion of this study. In nearly 20% of cadavers the nerve at some point along its course around the humerus in the deltoid muscle was less than 5 cm from the palpable edge of the acromion. This was especially true of female cadavers with short arm spans; in one cadaver the nerve was 3.1 cm from the acromial edge. Abducting the shoulder to 9cr decreases the distance from the nerve to the palpable edge of the acromion nearly 30%. Five centimeters does not describe an absolute safe zone for the axillary nerve. Furthermore, abduction of the arm brings the nerve even closer to commonly used bony landmarks.

The orthotic treatment of stable ankle fractures.

Fifteen limbs with stable lateral malleolar fractures treated with an adjustable, functional orthosis were compared to 12 limbs managed with short leg walking casts. The limbs managed with the adjustable orthosis were clinically healed at an average of 3.3 weeks with no fracture tenderness and with the ability to bear full weight without pain. Range of motion in the orthotic group at the end of treatment was significantly better than the casted group. Patient compliance was excellent. The advantages of the orthotic treatment include a more physiologic gait pattern due to the rocker bottom sole, ease of application, lighter weight, removability for range of motion exercises and bathing, and adjustability to maintain a good fit as posttraumatic swelling resolves.

Occult cervical spine injuries in fatal traffic accidents.

Post-mortem radiographs as well as careful inspection at autopsy of 100 consecutive traffic accident victims revealed an incidence of cervical spine injury of 24%. All but four of the 24 fractures and/or dislocations were localized to the level between the occiput and the axis. One half of the cases were not clinically suspected of having spine injuries before the detailed postmortem search. Seventeen of the 24 cervical spines were resected en bloc and the pathologic anatomy of the injuries was determined. The high incidence of cervical spine injuries and the anatomic findings at dissection have clinical implications for physicians who manage multiply traumatized patients. The need for immobilization and early radiographic evaluation of patients with cervical spine injuries is emphasized.

The pathological anatomy of fatal atlanto-occipital dislocations.

Nine atlanto-occipital dislocations were found in postmortem examinations of 112 victims of multiple trauma. Axial traction facilitated roentgenographic identification of the injury. A hyperextension mechanism of injury was suggested by the associated injuries, including submental lacerations and mandibular fractures. Atlanto-occipital dislocations were more frequent in children than in adults. A pure dislocation injury without fracture was identified.