History of the treatment of scapula fractures

The history of treatment of scapula fractures is closely connected with the history of the French surgery. Paré (Les œuvres d´Ambroise Paré, conseiller, et premier chirurgien du Roy, Gabriel Buon, Paris, p VCV, 1579), Petit (Traité des maladies des os. Tome second, Charles-Etienne Hochereau, Paris, pp 122–138, 1723), Du Verney (Traité des maladies des os. Tome I, de Burre, Paris, pp 220–231, 1751) and Desault (Œuvres chirurgicales, ou tableau de la doctrine et de la pratique dans le traitement des maladies externes par Xav. Bichat, Desault, Méquignon, Devilliers, Deroi, Paris, pp 98–106, 1798) were the first to point out the existence of these fractures. The first drawing of a scapula fracture was presented by Vogt (Dissertatio de ambarum scapularum dextroeque simul claviculae fractura rara, Dissertatione Universitae Vitembergensi, Wittenberg, 1799). This author was also the first to describe the scapula fracture associated with ipsilateral fracture of the clavicle. The first radiograph of scapula fracture (glenoid fossa fracture) was published by Struthers (Edinburgh Med J 4(3):147–149, 1910). The first internal fixation of scapula fracture using plate was done by Lambotte (1910) who was followed by Lane (The operative treatment of fractures, Medical Publishing Co, London, pp 99–101, 1914) and later by Lenormant (Sur l´ostéosynthèse dans certains fractures de l´omoplate Bulletins et mémoires de la Société de chirgie de Paris, pp 1501–1502, 1923), Dujarier (Fracture du col chirgical de l´omoplate. Ostéosynthèse par plaque en T. Bonne réduction. Bulletin et mémoires de la Société de chirurgie de Paris, pp 1492–1493, 1923) and Basset (Ostéosynthèse d´une fracture de l´omoplate. Bulletin et mémoires de la Société nationale de chirurgie. p 193, 1924). Dupont and Evrard (J Chir (Paris) 39:528–534, 1932) presented the first detailed description of the surgical approach along the lateral border of the scapula including two drawings. They were also the first to use the term “pillar of scapula”. Judet (Acta Orthop Belg 30:673–678, 1964) advocated operative treatment of displaced scapula fractures and described extensile posterior approach. Based on the French school, AO/ASIF improved methods of internal fixation of these fractures.