Surgical treatment of Rockwood grade-V acromioclavicular joint dislocations

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of patients with Rockwood grade-V acromioclavicular joint dislocation. The 50 patients were examined after a mean of 18 years

Male	42
Female	8
Injured side
left	27
right	23
Dominance
left	4
right	46
Mechanism of trauma
bicycling	20
simple fall	20
sport	6
traffic accident	4
Mean age at time of trauma, years	36 (20–57)
Mean age at time of examination, years	54 (40–75)
Mean follow-up time, months	215 (180–263)
Mean follow-up time, years	18 (15–22)

Table 2. Functional and clinical outcomes in 50 patients treated surgically for Rockwood grade-V acromioclavicular joint dislocation. The results are reported after a mean of 18 years of follow-up

Outcome
CS, injured shoulder, mean (SD)	90 (6)
CS, uninjured shoulder, mean (SD)	90 (11)
DASH, mean (SD)	5.1 (8.4)
SST, mean (SD)	11 (1.6)
VAS at rest (0–100), mean (SD)	8 (17)
VAS at activity (0-100), mean (SD)	18 (25)
Instability of AC joint (n)	8
Cross-arm test positive (n)	1
Impingement test positive (n)	4

CS = Constant shoulder Score

DASH = Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand

SST = Simple Shoulder Test

VAS = Visual Analog Scale

Table 3. Radiographic results after a mean of 18 years of follow-up in 49 patients treated surgically for grade-V acromioclavicular joint dislocation

Radiographic findings	n	p-value
Acromioclavicular joint arthrosis	27	1.0
injured joint	11
uninjured joint	11
bilateral	5
Glenohumeral joint arthrosis	4	0.5
injured side	1
uninjured side	3
bilateral	0
Lateral clavicle osteolysis	10	0.04
injured side	8
uninjured side	1
bilateral	1
Clavicle alignment with acromion in vertical plane ^a
in place	38
subluxation	5
dislocation	6
Radiological finding	mm	95% CI
Distance between coracoid process and clavicle
injured side	13	11–14
uninjured side	9	8.0–9.3
Acromioclavicular joint space
injured joint	6	4.8–7.4
uninjured joint	3	2.6–4.0

^a In place: the reduction of the AC joint was anatomical in antero-posterior radiograph;

subluxation: the clavicle was in superior translation > half clavicle width, but < 1 clavicle width in anteroposterior radiograph;

dislocation: the clavicle was in superior translation ≥ 1 clavicle width in anteroposterior radiograph.