Compression Arthrodesis of the Shoulder.

Predictable and rapid arthrodesis of the shoulder is the aim of any operation. Albert was reported to have attempted it in 188 1 and since then many techniques have been evolved, both intra-articular and extra-articular, either alone or with the use of bone grafts and internal fixation. The Research Committee of the American Orthopaedic Association in 1942 drew attention to the fact that none of these methods was entirely satisfactory and their survey of the end-results of stabilisation of the paralytic shoulder revealed an overall incidence of 22 per cent of non-union. Arthrodesis of the tuberculous shoulder was not included. In 1951 a new approach to this problem was put forward by Charnley who introduced a method of applying compression to obtain arthrodesis of the shoulder. Reporting on four cases he was enthusiastic about the results but cautious about drawing conclusions in view of the small number of cases and the short follow-up. This paper reviews the end-results of compression arthrodesis of the shoulder in this clinic over the past thirteen years.