Description
Treatment of midshaft displaced clavicular fractures traditionally was nonoperatively. Not all the fractures heels, and in some cases occur clavicular nonunion. There was increasing interest in identifying the types of fractures that might lead to potentional nonunion. Current stance is that the lateral third fracture, more laterally multifragmentation and more than 15 mm displacement are more common in the cases of nonunion. After 6 months patients treated nonoperatively also recovered with good functional results, pain relief and union rates.There is need for randomized controlled studies comparing plate fixation, intramedullary nailing and nonoperative treatment. In addition, there is a need for randomized controlled studies of lateral and medial clavicle fractures. The shape and type of plates need to be determined. There is still open question on impact of fracture union or nonunion on functional results.
