RESEARCH ARTICLE
Fractures of the Clavicle: An Overview
Thomas D Donnelly*, Robert J MacFarlane, Mathias Thomas Nagy, Peter Ralte, Mohammad Waseem
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2013Volume: 7
Issue: Suppl 3
First Page: 329
Last Page: 333
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-7-329
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001307010329
Article History:
Received Date: 2/9/2012Revision Received Date: 17/11/2012
Acceptance Date: 24/11/2012
Electronic publication date: 6/9/2013
Collection year: 2013
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/) which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Fractures of the clavicle are a common injury and most often occur in younger individuals. For the most part, they have been historically treated conservatively with acceptable results. However, over recent years, more and more research is showing that operative treatment may decrease the rates of fracture complications and increase functional outcomes. This article first describes the classification of clavicle fractures and then reviews the literature over the past decades to form a conclusion regarding the appropriate management.
A thorough literature review was performed on assessment of fractures of the clavicle, their classification and the outcomes following conservative treatment. Further literature was gathered regarding the surgical treatment of these fractures, including the methods of fixation and the surgical approaches used. Both conservative and surgical treatments were then compared and contrasted.
The majority of recent data suggests that operative treatment may be more appropriate as it improves functional outcome and reduces the risk of complications such as non-union. This is particularly evident in mid shaft fractures, although more high grade evidence is needed to fully recommend this, especially regarding certain fractures of the medial and lateral clavicle.
