Clavicle fractures are common, and most are isolated injuries. Injury to the nearby subclavian vessels and brachial plexus have classically been described as potential complications of clavicle fractures. However, in the setting of a substantially displaced clavicle fracture, concomitant thoracic trauma is relatively frequent. Injury to the thorax can be difficult to identify on physical examin...

  Background: Previous anatomic and radiological studies have described the relationship of the clavicle to major neurovascular structures in healthy subjects. We were curious about this relationship in patients with a clavicle fracture and if it is different from non-fractured clavicles.   Methods: We retrospectively identified all patients with a clavicle fracture between July 2001 and Octobe...

Injury to the long thoracic nerve with resulting serratus anterior palsy is a typical cause of medial scapular winging. We report a case of a 70-year-old female with scapular winging in the setting of a mildly comminuted midshaft clavicle fracture. The winging persisted for three months after the fracture, which became a nonunion. The winging spontaneously resolved prior to open reduction and i...

Segmental or bipolar fractures of the clavicle generally refer to a concomitant ipsilateral distal clavicle andmidshaft clavicle fracture. These injuries are exceedingly rare and are generally secondary to higher energy injuries. We report a case of a 38-year-old male who sustained a left bipolar clavicle fracture after falling from a push bike while riding recreationally which unusually involv...

BACKGROUND Fracture of the clavicle is common, accounting for 2.6 to 4.0 % of all fractures, with an overall incidence of 36.5 to 64 per 100,000 per year. Around 80 % of clavicle fractures occur in the middle third of the clavicle. Randomised controlled trials comparing treatment interventions have failed to indicate the best therapeutic practices for these fractures. The objective of this stud...

BACKGROUND Conservative management of middle third clavicle fracture has been recently reported with suboptimal outcomes. Despite higher nonunion rates in initial open reduction and internal fixation, understanding the problem better and taking in accounts of previous shortcomings, such fractures can be optimally treated by open reduction and internal fixation with reconstruction plate. OBJEC...

BACKGROUND The clavicle hook plate achieves like most other operative techniques, a high percentage of union and a low percentage of complications however concerns about long term complications still exist, particularly the involvement of the acromioclavicular joint. METHODS To evaluate the results and long term effects in use of this plate we performed a retrospective analysis with a mean fo...

BACKGROUND Despite the use of non-surgical methods to treat for the majority of midshaft fractures of the clavicle, it is remains controversial whether shortening of this bone following non-surgical treatment of a middle third fracture affects upper limb function. METHODS We conducted a cohort study by sequentially recruiting 59 patients with a fracture of the middle third of the clavicle. Al...