• Sang-Hun Ko and Myung-Seo Kim.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shoulder and Elbow Clinic, College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Republic of Korea.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2022 Aug 1; 142 (8): 1895-1902.

IntroductionOnly a few previous studies have evaluated the factors related to supraclavicular nerve (SCN) injury after clavicle mid-shaft fracture surgery. We analyzed the frequency and risk factors for SCN injury after clavicle mid-shaft fracture surgery via open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) versus minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the cases from 59 patients who had undergone surgery for clavicle mid-shaft fractures between January 2018 and April 2019. Twenty-nine patients had undergone ORIF and 30 had undergone MIPO. The frequency of SCN injury in the two groups was evaluated, and preoperative patient demographics (age, sex, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, diabetes mellitus, and trauma mechanism), and radiological parameters (fracture displacement and shortening) were measured and evaluated as risk factors for SCN injury. When neurological symptoms, such as numbness, were present on the anterior chest wall or at the incision site, electromyography (EMG) was conducted.ResultsNeurological symptoms were present in 12 patients. Numbness in the anterior upper chest around the incision site was present in eight and four patients who underwent ORIF and MIPO, respectively (p < 0.001). Furthermore, fracture displacement evaluated on preoperative three-dimensional computed tomography was significantly associated with the occurrence of SCN injury in patients who underwent MIPO (odds ratio, 1.038; 95% confidence interval, 1.001-1.077; p = 0.047). Although EMG was conducted in all patients with SCN injury, peripheral neuropathy was not found in any cases.ConclusionsSCN injury, which is a possible complication of clavicle mid-shaft fracture surgery, occurred significantly less frequently in MIPO than in ORIF. In MIPO, greater preoperative fracture displacement was associated with a higher risk of SCN injury. Additional studies are required to reach a consensus regarding accurate methods to evaluate SCN injuries.Level Of EvidenceIV, case series, treatment study.© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

29 keywords...

hide…