A comparative study of two surgical methods for complex proximal humerus fracture

Objective To compare the curative effect of artificial shoulder joint replacement(ASJR) and locking proximal humerus plate(LPHP) in the treatment of complex proximal humerus fracture(PHF). Methods A total of 96 cases of consecutive complex proximal humerus fracture were enrolled into this study,45 of them with LPHP were selected as the control group and other 51 patients with ASJR were selected as the observation group,the effects and complications were compared between the two groups. Results The operation time,blood loss and incidence of complications in the perioperative period were no statistical difference between the two group(P>0.05).The total efficacy rate by Neer score in the observation group was statistically more than that in the control group(70.6% vs.48.9%,P<0.05),while there was no statistical difference by the hierarchical data comparison(P>0.05).The flexion,extension,adduction,abduction,external rotation,internal rotation angle of shoulder were all statistically larger [(96.2±4.3)° vs. (93.4±4.0)°,(38.4±5.0)° vs. (35.6±4.5)°,(90.5±4.6)° vs. (87.4±4.1)°,(34.4±2.2)° vs. (32.6±2.3)°,(33.0±2.4)° vs. (31.8±2.3)°,(56.6±8.2)° vs. (50.9±8.0)°,respectively,P<0.05].The incidence of late complications including joint inflammation and atrophy and refracture was statistically lower(7.8% vs. 22.2%,P<0.05). Conclusion The artificial shoulder joint replacement for complex proximal humerus fracture can obviously improve the function of shoulder joint and decrease the incidence of postoperative complications.