Alternative humeral tubercle fixation in shoulder hemiarthroplasty for fractures of the proximal humerus.

摘要

HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesize that the sling technique provides better long term tuberosity fixation in hemiarthroplasty for severe fractures of the proximal humerus. BACKGROUND: After hemiarthroplasty for proximal humeral fractures, problems exist with deterioration of shoulder function by secondary displacement of the initially fixated humeral tuberosities. This study evaluated a new technique for fixation of the greater and lesser tuberosities in uncemented hemiarthroplasties in severely displaced 3- or 4-part proximal humeral fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 31 uncemented hemiarthroplasties using the new sling technique to repair the tuberosities was evaluated clinically and radiographically with special emphasis on the head-to-tuberosity distance (HTD). A historical cohort of 10 similar uncemented hemiarthroplasties was the control group in which the drill-hole technique was used for fixation of the humeral tuberosities. RESULTS: The sling technique had an overall better tuberosity positioning in terms of HTD compared with the drill-hole technique (8 vs 1 mm; P = .025, U test). There were significantly more normal HTD values in the sling-technique group (81% vs 44%; P = .032, chi(2) test). In the anatomic HTD group, the Constant score (70 vs 52; P = .009), patient satisfaction (7.1 vs 5.7; P = .038), and visual analog scale score (3.2 vs 5.2; P = .025) were statistically significantly superior compared with the nonanatomic HTD group. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: The sling technique for tuberosity fixation seems to provide solid fixation. In this study, anatomic HTD fixation was associated with significantly better functional outcome, patient satisfaction, and pain scores.