Treatment of humeral shaft fractures by external fixation

Abstract

Forty  patients  with  open shaft of humerus  fractures  were treated  with  a monolateral   external  fixator.   Five patients  presented   with  nerve  palsies.  Two radial    nerves   were   disrupted    and   required    reaper.    Three    spontaneously recovered   and  one  brachial   plexus   partially   improved.    All fractures    healed.   The average  duration   of  external   fixation  was  24  weeks.  Four   patients   required additional  procedures  prior  to healing (external  fixator  reapplication  - 2, plating and  bone  grafting.   Eight   patients   developed  pin  tract   infections,  which  all resolved with local care and antibiotics.

The  results  of treatment   of  closed humeral  shaft  fractures   are  excellent using  a variety  of techniques  including  bracingl,19,20,23,   hanging  casts6,8,17, plate   fixation2,7,8,17,22,     and   intramedullary      nailing4,12,21.    There   is  less  data available   on  the  best  technique    of skeletal   stabilization    and  ocutcome of patients with open humeral  shaft fractures.  Although open fractures  are included in large series of humeral  shaft fractures,  analysis  of this subgroup  is often not reported separately2,4,7,12,19,20,22,23.

The purpose  of this study was to determme  the outcome of open humeral shaft fractures  treated  by a uniform  technique  of monolateral  external  fixation.