Effect of Surgery and Conservative Treatment on Clavicular\rshortening in Midshaft Clavicle Fractures

Abstract

Aim: Clavicle fractures mostly occur after a trauma in adults and 80% of them occur in\rthe midshaft. Treatment is done conservatively and surgically. The aim of the study is\rto evaluate the effects of surgical and conservative treatments on clavicular shortening in\rterms of radiological evaluation retrospectively.\rMaterials and Methods: The patients over the age of 18 with a midshaft clavicle\rfracture, who applied to our center between 2015 and 2020 and were treated conservatively\rand surgically, were included in the study. In both treatment groups, the clavicle lengths\ron the fractured side and the intact side of the patient were measured on the posterioranterior\rthorax radiography, and the relevant shortness of length was determined. The\rrates of Clavicular Shortening and other complications occurred in both treatment groups\rwere evaluated\rResults: Ages of the patients included in the study were between 18 and 71 (mean 35.6\r±12.2years) and 48 of them were treated conservatively and 28 were treated surgically.\rClavicle length was determined as 158 ±11.2 mm and shortness as 8.2±9.4 mm on average\rin the patients with a midshaft fracture, who were treated conservatively. In the patients\rwith midshaft fracture, who were treated surgically, the length of clavicle was measured\ras 164±12.6 mm and shortness as 3.1±5.2 mm. Statistically significant short clavicle\rlength was determined in the patients who were treated conservatively (p < 0.05). While\r11 (22.9%) complications were observed in the patients treated conservatively, 9 (32.1%)\rcomplications were observed in those treated surgically.\rConclusions: A lower rate of clavicular shortening was found in the surgical treatment of\rmidshaft clavicle fractures. This can be one of the reasons for the increase in the tendency\rto surgery, as it preserves the anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder better.