Disjonctions acromio-claviculaires récentes

Acromioclavicular dislocations represent over 10% of acute traumatic injuries to the shoulder girdle. The mechanism is usually a direct impact on the shoulder with the arm in adduction, producing rupture of the acromioclavicular (AC) ligaments, then of the coracoclavicular (CC) ligament, with displacement of the lateral end of the clavicle. Rockwood described 6 grades of injury. Physical examination usually provides the diagnosis, which is confirmed by radiological examination. X-rays centered on the AC joint, if necessary with forceful adduction of both shoulders or under traction, are useful to evaluate the severity of the lesion. Grade I and II lesions are usually treated conservatively by simply immobilizing the arm for 3 to 4 weeks. Surgical treatment is usually advocated for grade IV, V and VI lesions: AC or CC fixation, sometimes associated with ligament repair, depending on the surgeons. AC pinning or C-C screw fixation are the techniques most often used. Management of grade III lesions remains controversial. Some authors advocate immediate surgical treatment in young, active patients, in heavy laborers and even in slender individuals. The choice of the operative technique is controversial, as no single technique has clearly proved to be superior to others. Other authors advocate conservative treatment, which gives functional results which patients consider quite acceptable, with faster recovery; patients should be informed that results are essentially similar, whatever the treatment. The possibility of performing secondary operations with good results in cases with failure of conservative management is a further argument in favor of applying conservative therapy first in acute injuries

Fixation of fractures of the proximal humerus with the PlantTan Humerus Fixator Plate: early experience with a new implant

The majority of fractures of the proximal humerus can be managed nonoperatively. However, displaced fractures generally require operative repair, and in the young patient with good bone quality, the results are usually satisfactory. In contrast, the osteoporosis found in the elderly patient makes internal fixation problematic and frequently contributes to failure of fixation and poor results. We report our early experience with a new plate that locks two humeral head cancellous screws to the plate. In 3 of 7 patients, all under 65 years of age, the results were good. However, in the remaining 4 patients, all over the age of 75 years, there was a 100% failure rate, with screw penetration of the head in 3 patients and secondary displacement of the fracture at 7 days postoperatively in another. We conclude that this implant is unsatisfactory for patients with osteopenic bone in the humeral head

Treatment of reverse oblique and transverse intertrochanteric fractures with use of an intramedullary nail or a 95 degrees screw-plate: a prospective, randomized study

Intertrochanteric fractures are composed of different anatomic patterns that vary in their degree of stability following open reduction and internal fixation. A particularly unstable group is classified as AO/OTA 31-A3, with the fracture pattern described as reverse oblique or transverse. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of intramedullary fixation with those of plate fixation for these intertrochanteric fractures in elderly patients

Pertrochanteric fractures: is there an advantage to an intramedullary nail?: a randomized, prospective study of 206 patients comparing the dynamic hip screw and proximal femoral nail

To compare the results between a sliding compression hip screw and an intramedullary nail in the treatment of pertrochanteric fractures

The value of bacterial culture during clean orthopedic surgery: a prospective study of 1,036 patients

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether bacterial cultures of the wounds of patients undergoing clean orthopedic surgery would help predict infection. METHODS: During 1 year, 1,256 cultures were performed for 1,102 patients who underwent clean orthopedic surgery. Results were analyzed to evaluate their ability to predict postoperative infection. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the cultures were 38%, 92%, 7%, and 99%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Cultures performed during clean orthopedic surgery were not useful for predicting postoperative infection