Abstract
Locking Compression Plate (LCP) provides stable fixation with fewer screws than a conventional plate and screw system. There is no need to contour the fixator to the bone precisely as it does not require large areas of contact with the bone. The plate also preserves the periosteal blood supply, minimizes soft tissue damage, and is, therefore, a more biological fixation. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate LCP for clavicle shaft fractures in two successive case series of consecutive. Conventional plate was applied in 20 cases from September 2001 to June 2003, LCP was applied in 18 cases from September 2003 to October 2005. There were 17 men and 3 women in the conventional plate group, and 12 men and 6 women in the LCP group. The average age of the conventional plate group at the time of surgery was 34.5 years (range 14 to 76 years), 41.8 years (range 16 to 74 years) of LCP group. According to the AO fracture classification, there were 11 simple fractures, 2 segmental fractures, and 7 comminuted fractures in the conventional plate group, 7 simple fractures, 10 segmental fractures, and 1 comminuted fracture in the LCP group. There were no significant differences between the groups in surgical time, time to bone union, or shoulder ROM. Because there was only 1 comminuted fracture, we can only speculate that LCP would be beneficial for comminuted or displaced fractures in terms of preservation of blood supply in soft tissues, and we would expect it to shorten surgical time for severely comminuted fractures.
