Advances in surgical techniques have increased the role of early surgical intervention for isolated diaphyseal humerus fractures. The goal of this study was to investigate the following: (1) the current trend of operative treatment; (2) factors that affect surgical treatment; and (3) the effect of surgical fixation on length of stay, complication rates, and hospital disposition. The National Tr...

Traditional methods of correcting malunited distal humeral fractures in children involve complex wedge osteotomies held with pins or internal fixation devices. These require a large exposure and challenging fixation. We elected to perform simple transverse osteotomies, without wedges, using a lateral incision. These were maintained by the small AO external fixator. Between 1987 and 2004, five c...

Splitting fractures of the humeral head are rare; part of the humeral head dislocates and the unfractured part remains attached to the shaft. We report eight cases in young patients. In five the diagnosis was made at presentation: three had minimal internal fixation using a superior subacromial approach, one had a closed reduction and one a primary prosthetic replacement. All five patients rega...

Background: Management of displaced proximal humeral fractures is subject of ongoing debate. Objectives: We aimed to review our results of operative treatment of proximal humeral fractures compared to age-, sex, and fracture-type controlled conservative treatment. We hypothesized that there is no significant difference in upper-extremity specific disability between patients treated with operati...

Radial nerve injury is a recognised complication associated with humeral shaft fracture. A case of iatrogenic radial nerve injury is presented following fracture reduction. The relevant anatomy, challenges in management of humeral fractures with associated radial nerve injury, and the importance of detailed clinical assessment and documentation are discussed.

We treated 39 patients with fractures of the humeral shaft by closed retrograde locked intramedullary nailing, using Russell-Taylor humeral nails. The mean healing time of all fractures was 13.7 weeks. After consolidation, shoulder function was excellent in 92.3% and elbow function excellent in 87.2%. Functional end-results were excellent in 84.6% of patients, moderate in 10.3% and bad in 5.1%....

Hemiarthroplasty has been recommended for 3- and 4-part fractures of the proximal humerus. Outcomes are most affected by final implant and tuberosity position. Reports of outcome and management of head-split fractures with humeral head replacement are lacking. The purpose of this study was to report the outcomes after humeral head replacement and the radiographic characteristics identified in h...

The treatment of distal humeral periprosthetic fractures is not widely described in the literature. We present a difficult clinical scenario of a 72-year-old man who sustained a displaced distal humeral periprosthetic fracture about a Polarus Plus intramedullary nail. In this case, stable fixation was achieved using bicondylar Acumed Mayo congruent Plates using a miss-a-nail technique. Four mon...

Complex displaced proximal humerus fractures are frequently treated with a fracture prosthesis. This paper outlines the indications, introduces various fracture prostheses, describes the surgical technique, and rehabilitation for treatment of proximal humerus fractures with a fracture prosthesis hemiarthroplasty. Outcomes are noted to be improved when near anatomic humeral head height, and retr...