• Richard M Hinds, Matthew R Garner, Wesley H Tran, Lionel E Lazaro, Joshua S Dines, and Dean G Lorich.
• Orthopaedic Trauma Service, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: RichardHindsResearch@gmail.com.
• J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2015 Jun 1;24(6):889-96.

BackgroundOsteosynthesis of proximal humeral fractures is challenging in geriatric patients. The purpose of this investigation was to compare postoperative clinical outcomes between cohorts of geriatric (aged ≥65 years) and non-geriatric proximal humeral fracture patients treated via locked plating with endosteal fibular strut allograft augmentation.MethodsFrom March 2007 to January 2013, 71 adult patients with 2-, 3-, and 4-part proximal humeral fractures according to the Neer classification underwent osteosynthesis with locked plating and fibular allograft augmentation and had at least 12 months of clinical follow-up. All patients followed the same postoperative rehabilitation protocol. We compared the following between geriatric and non-geriatric patients: Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand scores; University of California, Los Angeles shoulder ratings; Constant-Murley scores; and range of motion; as well as injury characteristics and radiographic outcomes.ResultsGeriatric patients comprised 48% of the study cohort (34 of 71 patients). The mean age of the geriatric and non-geriatric cohorts was 74 years and 53 years, respectively. Geriatric patients showed significantly reduced forward flexion (147° vs 159°, P = .04) when compared with non-geriatric patients. There were no significant differences in functional scores, radiographic outcomes, or complication rates between the 2 cohorts, although in 1 geriatric patient, osteonecrosis developed and screw penetration through the collapsed head was present 3 years after surgery.ConclusionsOsteosynthesis of proximal humeral fractures via locked plating with fibular strut allograft augmentation results in similar clinical outcomes between geriatric and non-geriatric patients. We believe that enhanced stability provided by this fixation construct allows early intensive postoperative therapy and results in excellent outcomes despite patient age.Copyright © 2015 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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