[Sternoclavicular dislocations: clinical and therapeutic study. A report of 9 cases]

Sterno-clavicular dislocations represent an uncommon pathology in shoulder trauma. The authors describe the anatomical and clinical forms observed between January 1999 and December 2002, and evaluate the treatment process. The retrospective study addressed 9 patients (men only) with an average age of 26.6. Based on the duration of the consulting period, one could distinguish old forms from more recent ones. Diagnosis would help to see anterior forms from posterior forms. Evaluation criteria were: pain, mobility of the shoulder, visibility of the deformation of the sterno-clavicular joint. Six types of anterior dislocations were listed, including 4 recent and 2 old ones. There were 3 recent posterior forms. The anterior recent forms, which were treated in orthopedics, showed a positive evolution. As there was no functional disability, it was wiser to refrain from any treatment of the anterior old forms. The posterior forms, two of them were operated (osteosynthesis) revealed no functional deficit after treatment. However, one of the patients had a broken implant. Scanner facilitated the diagnosis of sterno-clavicular dislocations. The anterior forms, which are more frequent and benign, are different from the posterior forms, which are emergency cases due to the proximity of the aero-digestive and cardiovascular elements. Their surgical stabilization requires techniques related to ligamentoplasty rather than using osteo-synthesis equipment which may move away or break off.