Surgical or conservative treatment of total dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint

A follow-up investigation on 41 patients with complete dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint was performed. Nineteen patients had been treated surgically, 22 conservatively. The surgery performed had consisted of repair of the coracoclavicular ligament and fixation of the acromioclavicular joint by means of a Kirschner wire. In the conservatively treated patients, a strapping was applied to maintain reduction of the acromioclavicular joint. A good functional end-result is correlated with a good anatomical result. A good anatomical result was more frequent in the surgically treated group. Better functional results were achieved by operation than by conservative treatment. In general, post-traumatic arthrosis of the acromioclavicular joint was slight and was not correlated with the functional results.