Non-union of fractures of the mid-shaft of the clavicle. Treatment with a modified Hagie intramedullary pin and autogenous bone-grafting.
We reviewed a series of fifty patients who had a non-union of a fracture of the clavicle. Twenty-one patients (42 per cent) who had a symptomatic non-union of the middle of the shaft of the clavicle were treated with open reduction, internal fixation with a modified Hagie intramedullary pin, and autogenous bone-grafting, and those patients form the basis for the report. The average duration of follow-up was thirty-five months (range, five months to eleven years). Healing occurred in twenty (95 per cent) of the twenty-one patients. Intramedullary fixation has several advantages compared with other treatments, such as fixation with a plate and screws. It can be performed through a cosmetically acceptable incision in the Langer line; less dissection of the soft tissues is needed; and, after healing, the pin can be removed through a small incision under local anesthesia.
Boehme
D
D
University of Texas Health Science Center, School of Medicine, San Antonio 78284.
Curtis
R J
RJ
DeHaan
J T
JT
Kay
S P
SP
Young
D C
DC
Rockwood
C A
CA
D000328:Adult; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D002968:Clavicle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005594:Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary / Q000379:methods*; D005599:Fractures, Ununited / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous