Arthroscopic anatomic repair of acute acromioclavicular joint dislocations

Objective: Describe the arthroscopically assisted surgical technique to treat acute acromio-clavicular injuries based on anatomic coracoclavicular (CC) reconstruction and present the preliminary clinical results. Material and methods: After AC dislocation, 12 patients were treated with the anatomic arthroscopic reconstruction technique using a dual coracoclavicular suspension device. Follow-up was from 3 to 12 months 8Xip-tight). The mean time between injury and surgery was 8 days. Three dislocations were Rockwood type III, 2 type IV and 7 type V. The mean age was 31 years (19-45). Diagnosis included antero-posterior and Alexander outlet radiographs. Clinical evaluation was performed with the SF-36 test, DASH and the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. Results: Improvement was observed in all values studied. DASH 79.4 (556-89) pre to 3.8 (1.9-9.5) post, SF36-physical 29.9 (17-43) pre to 56.1 (53-60) post, SF36- mental 44.2 (27-52) pre to 55.4 (44-57) post. VAS 8.1 (6-9) pre to 1.3 (0-2) post. The degree of satisfaction was 8.5 over 10. Radiographic results were satisfactory in 11 cases. In one case, there was a loss of reduction of less than 50% that had no clinical impact. No complications such as tunnel fractures, infection or intolerance of material occurred. Conclusion: The technique for stabilization of acute AC dislocations with two anatomically configured CC suspension devices is safe but demanding. However, the complication rate is low and short-term results are optimum in selected patients.