title: Reconstruction of chronic and complete dislocations of the acromioclavicular joint.
abstract: The authors report on a technique for the treatment of symptomatic, chronic complete dislocations of the acromioclavicular joint. The coracoacromial ligament is substituted for the coracoclavicular ligaments, and a special temporary coracoclavicular lag screw is used to stabilize the clavicle to the coracoid during ligament healing. The technique has been used on 23 patients who were observed for an average of 5.2 years. Good to excellent results were obtained in 19 of 23 patients. The four patients with fair or poor results had one or more resections of the distal clavicle before the reconstruction. Subjectively, 22 of 23 patients reported improvement in their shoulder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, University of Texas Medical School, San Antonio, USA.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Guy
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Rockwood
mesh_terms: D000173:Acromioclavicular Joint / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001863:Bone Screws; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008023:Ligaments, Articular / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D016896:Treatment Outcome