Percutaneous humeral plating of fractures of the proximal humerus: results of a prospective multicenter clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the safety and functional outcome of a recently described surgical technique of percutaneous plating for proximal humerus fractures.

DESIGN

Prospective clinical trial.

SETTING

: Two urban Level 1 university trauma centers.

PATIENTS: From February 2002 to December 2003, 34 consecutive patients underwent surgery by 5 trauma surgeons from 2 teaching hospitals. Twenty-seven patients had 1-year follow-up.

INTERVENTION: The technique involved 2 minimal incisions with a lateral deltoid split and a more distal shaft incision. A proximal humerus-specific locking plate was implemented.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: DASH (disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand) and Constant-Murley evaluation scores were used for functional evaluation. The presence of complications was noted.

RESULTS

Specifically, there were no axillary nerve injury injuries and no loss of reduction. The average Constant score at 1 year was 82 and the DASH score was 26.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that the functional outcome results correspond to a normal age-adjusted score signifying an acceptable result.