[Surgical stabilization of acute/chronic sternoclavicular instability with autologous gracilis tendon graft]

Traumatic Sternoclavicular Dislocations in Athletes: Diagnosis, Indications for Surgical Reconstruction, and Guide for Return to Play

Injuries to the sternoclavicular (SC) joint are rare, however, when they occur prompt recognition, evaluation, and treatment are crucial. SC joint injuries can occur following high-energy mechanisms such as motor vehicle collisions and contact sports. Injury to the SC joint can be evaluated with the use of plain radiographs as well as computed tomography. If an injury to the SC joint is suspected, injury to vital mediastinal structures must be evaluated. SC joint dislocations can be treated by either closed reduction or open reduction and stabilization. Many stabilization methods have been described including plate stabilization and ligament reconstruction.

Innovative Surgical Concept for Septic Sternoclavicular Arthritis: Case Presentation of a Simultaneous Joint Resection and Stabilization with Gracilis Tendon Graft Including Literature Review

INTRODUCTION

Septic arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) is a rarity in everyday surgical practice with 0.5 - 1% of all joint infections. Although there are several risk factors for the occurrence of this disease, also healthy people can sometimes be affected. The clinical appearance is very variable and ranges from unspecific symptoms such as local indolent swelling, redness or restricted movement of the affected shoulder girdle to serious consequences (mediastinitis, sepsis, jugular vein thrombosis). Together with the low incidence and the unfamiliarity of the disease among practicing doctors in other specialties, this often results in a delay in the diagnosis, which in addition to a significant reduction in the quality of life can also have devastating consequences for the patient.

PATIENT AND METHOD

According to a stage-dependent procedure, the therapy strategies range from antibiotic administration only to radical resection of the SC joint and other affected structures of the chest wall in severe cases with the following necessity for flap reconstruction. The aspect of possible post-interventional instability after resection of the SCJ receives little or no attention in the current literature. In the present case report of a 51-year-old, otherwise healthy gentleman with isolated monoarthritis of the right SCJ with Escherichia coli (E. coli) shortly after two prostatitis episodes, the possibility of a new surgical approach with a one-stage eradication and simultaneous stabilization of the SCJ is presented. Therefore, a joint resection including extensive debridement is performed while leaving the posterior joint capsule and inserting an antibiotic carrier. In the same procedure, the SCJ is then stabilized with an autologous gracilis tendon graft by using the "figure of eight" technique, which has become well established particularly for anterior instabilities of the SCJ in recent years.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

One year after operative therapy, the patient presented symptom-free with an excellent clinical result (SSV 90%, CS89 points, CSM 94 points, TF 11 points, DASH 2.5 points). It is concluded that in selected cases with an infection restricted to the SCJ without major abscessing in the surrounding soft tissues, the demonstrated procedure leads to good and excellent clinical results with stability of the joint. If the focus of infection and germ are known, stabilization using an autologous graft can be carried out under antibiotic shielding. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this surgical procedure has not yet been described in the current literature. Depending on the extent of the resection, an accompanying stabilization of the SCJ should be considered to achieve stable conditions and an optimal clinical outcome.

[Fracture diagnosis: upper extremities : Shoulder and shoulder girdle]

BACKGROUND

The shoulder girdle is a chain of bones and joints which connect the upper extremity to the axial skeleton. The shoulder as a biomechanical unit has a remarkable range of motion and is therefore frequently prone to injuries of the three major joints (sternoclavicular joint, acromioclavicular joint, glenohumeral joint) and the bony elements (clavicle, scapula, humerus). Projection radiography is still the first imaging modality for injuries of the shoulder and usually sufficient for initial diagnosis and injury classification. Computed tomography (including 3D reconstructions) and magnetic resonance imaging provide additional useful information for the detection of accompanying soft-tissue injury, for surgical planning and in cases of complex anatomy (e.g., scapular fractures).

PURPOSE

We aim to describe the fundamentals of injuries of the shoulder girdle and the proximal humerus with special emphasis on radiological diagnostics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A selective PubMed literature search was performed using the following terms: "sternoclavicular joint dislocation", "clavicle fracture", "acromioclavicular joint injury", "scapular fracture", "shoulder dislocation", "proximal humerus fracture", and "shoulder girdle injuries".

RESULTS

The article describes the basics of the anatomy, the trauma mechanism and the epidemiology of the most common injuries of the shoulder girdle and the proximal humerus. Special emphasis is given to radiological diagnostics, including basic projection radiography and advanced cross-sectional imaging.

Sternoclavicular Joint Reconstruction Fracture Risk Is Reduced With Straight Drill Tunnels and Optimized With Tendon Graft Suture Augmentation

Background:

Despite the rare entity of sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) instability, a variety of different reconstruction techniques for SCJ dislocations have been described. A technique with oblique drilling has been proposed to reduce intraoperative risks.

Purpose:

To biomechanically investigate different cerclage reconstruction techniques and the benefit of additional reinforcement using suture tape.

Study Design:

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods:

Reconstructed artificial bone specimens were mounted on a mechanical testing machine. They were subjected to anterior and posterior translation, analyzing ultimate strength, displacement, stiffness, and elongation. For stage 1, different angulations of the drill tunnels through the sternum and clavicle were compared. Straight drill tunnels from anterior to posterior were compared with 45° oblique drill tunnels. For stage 2, three different materials for cerclage reconstruction were compared: (1) suture tape alone (FT group), (2) tendon graft alone (tendon group), and (3) tendon graft with suture tape augmentation (tendon+FT group).

Results:

For the FT group, in the anterior and posterior directions, straight drill holes resulted in a significantly higher load to failure (936.9 ± 122.5 N) compared with oblique ones (434.5 ± 20.2 N) (P < .0001). During cyclic testing, all specimens with straight drill holes survived the 5- to 550-N step, while all specimens with oblique ones failed during the 5- to 450-N step. Analyzing the graft material choice, the mean load to failure was 556.6 ± 174.3 N for the tendon group, 936.9 ± 122.5 N for the FT group, and 767.0 ± 110.7 N for the tendon+FT group (P = .089). The stiffness of the tendon+FT group was significantly lower than that of the FT group and significantly higher than that of the tendon group.

Conclusion:

Oblique tunnel placement during SCJ reconstruction, while reducing the intraoperative risk, results in decreased primary stability of the construct. Tendon graft reconstruction with suture tape augmentation leads to enhanced stability and optimizes biomechanical properties of the construct.

Clinical Relevance:

The surgical technique with straight drill holes has superior initial biomechanical properties and may likewise produce superior clinical outcomes in the treatment of SCJ instability. Suture tape augmentation can provide additional stability to reconstruction procedures.

Outcomes and complications following graft reconstruction for anterior sternoclavicular joint instability

PURPOSE

Publications describing tendon graft reconstruction for anterior sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) instability are rare and usually refer to small patient numbers. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding outcomes and complications following tendon graft reconstruction techniques for anterior SCJ instability.

METHODS

An online database was systematically searched to identify studies on graft reconstruction for anterior SCJ instability. Reported outcome scores were graded as excellent, good, fair and poor to summarize the study results. All reported complications were recorded.

RESULTS

Five articles with a total of 80 patients met the inclusion criteria. Reported outcomes were excellent in 10 %, good in 89 % and fair in 1 %. Recurrent instability was found in 10 % of the patients, and 5 % underwent revision surgery due to persistent impairment of shoulder function related to SCJ instability or osteoarthritis.

CONCLUSION

Surgical stabilization techniques for the SCJ using autologous tendon grafts have shown to be safe and reliable and make better patients' pain situation and shoulder function. However, a certain amount of impairment might persist, which needs to be discussed with patients. Severe complications were rare and revision rates were as low as 5 %. Therefore, graft reconstruction techniques should be considered for patients with chronic anterior SCJ instability after a course of failed conservative treatment. This study is valuable for clinicians in daily clinical practice when dealing with this difficult-to-treat pathology and can help surgeons to better predict the clinical outcomes and complications following SCJ graft reconstruction. It should, however, not lead to underestimation of the potential risks of the procedure.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Systematic review, Level IV.

Novel technique for sternoclavicular joint reconstruction using a gracilis tendon autograft

Surgical treatment of sternoclavicular joint instability can be challenging and carries the inherent risk of damaging vital structures if the posterior capsule is violated during surgery. In the current manuscript, a novel and easy technique for open reduction and tendon graft stabilization of the unstable sternoclavicular joint is presented. Analogous to other techniques, the graft is passed through drill holes in a figure-of-eight configuration. However, for this technique, the drill holes are placed in oblique direction from the anterior cortex towards the articular surface of the sternum, respectively the medial clavicle. By doing so, graft reconstruction is achieved without any need for retrosternal dissection and mobilization of the posterior capsule, thus minimizing the risk of severe intraoperative complications.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

V.