[Therapy of rupture of the great tubercle]

In most cases isolated avulsions of the great tubercle can be treated conservatively. 31 Patients suffering from an isolated avulsion of the great tubercle had to go through an after-examination. 30 of these patients were fixed on the conservative method for three to four days mostly, usually with a Desault-dressing, and, subsequently, they had to undergo a functional after-treatment, even if the dislocation of the fragment was partly more than 1 cm. Only once, in the case of subacromial position of the fragment, an operative fixation was performed. On an average, an after-examination followed 1.8 years after the accident. Only eight patients complained about occasional trouble, five of whom, only, suffered from a slight reduction of mobility. It was remarkable that the occurring discomfort had nothing to do with the original degree of the dislocation of the fragment. In all, with the therapy performed as described above, a satisfying functional healing result was achieved. According to the present results, the operative fixation only has to be performed in the case of mechanical disability with a dislocation underneath the acromion.