Medial Clavicle Osseous Dimensions with Implication on Plate Fixation

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Radiology
• Biomechanical Engineering

Background:

• Medial clavicle fractures with significant displacement often lead to painful nonunion.
• Operative fixation is complicated by limited medial bone stock and proximity to vital vascular structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure medial clavicle dimensions using CT scans to guide surgical fixation.
• To evaluate the efficacy of dual T-locking plates for medial clavicle fracture repair.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 21 chest CT scans to determine medial clavicle dimensions (anterior-posterior, superior-inferior).
• Assessment of correlation between patient height and clavicular dimensions using Pearson correlation coefficient.
• Description of two cases treated with dual T-locking plates.

Main Results:

• Medial clavicle dimensions were quantified, providing data on available bone stock for screw purchase.
• High inter-observer (0.986) and intra-observer (0.984) reliability was achieved in measurements.
• Both patients treated with dual T-locking plates achieved fracture healing without short-term hardware complications.

Conclusions:

• CT imaging allows reliable pre-operative evaluation of bone stock and screw length for medial clavicle fractures.
• Dual T-locking plates with unicortical and bicortical screws are a potential fixation method.
• Dual T-locking plates may be considered for medial clavicle fracture fixation when medial bone purchase is challenging.