Clinical outcomes following surgical fixation of acromion fractures

• Published in: JSES international 2025-01, Vol.9 (1), p.301-305
• Main Authors: Tran, Tram L., Sekar, Molly G., Bhardwaja, Nik, McGraw-Heinrich, Jessica, McKee, Michael D., Dehghan, Niloofar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acromial; Acromion; Fracture; Periprosthetic; Reverse shoulder arthroplasty; Scapula; Stress fracture; Surgical fixation
• ISSN: 2666-6383; 2666-6383
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jseint.2024.11.016

Acromial fractures are rare in the traumatic setting; however, they have recently gained attention due to the increase in incidence as a result of a postoperative complication of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. While historically these fractures were routinely treated nonoperatively, there is evidence that surgery can improve outcomes. The study aims to evaluate clinical outcomes following surgical treatment of acromion fractures and compare outcomes among patients with an intact rotator cuff against those with a deficient rotator cuff or reverse shoulder arthroplasty. This is a retrospective review of patients with acromion fractures that were treated with open reduction internal fixation between January 2014 and March 2023. Patients were stratified into three cohorts as follows: 1) rotator cuff intact; 2) rotator cuff impaired; and 3) presence of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. Thirty-seven patients were included in the study with a mean follow-up of 9 months (range 0.5-77). The mechanism of injury was stress fracture (46%), high-energy trauma (32%), or low-energy falls (22%). The mean time to surgery was 6 months (0-24). Older age and female sex were associated with stress fractures (P