Operative treatment was recommended for great tuberosity fracture of the humerus with more than 5mm-upper displacement. The purpose of this study was to compare the operative treatment with conservative treatment of great tuberosity fracture of the humerus displaced between 5mm and 1cm. We retrospectively evaluated ten shoulders in 10 patients with great tuberosity fracture of the humerus. In all patients, there were 5mm∼10mm-displaced fragments of great tuberosity fracture of the humerus. The operative group was consisted of 5 shoulders (3 males and 2 females). Their mean age was 55 (47-71) years old. The average duration of follow-up was 16.2 (12-24) months. The conservative group had 5 shoulders (5 females). The mean age was 67.4 (61-73) years old. The average duration of follow-up was 24.8 (6-47) months. We evaluated the range of motion (flexion, abduction, external rotation) and the JOA score. In the operative group, flexion was 143±25.6°, abduction was 144.4±25.2°, ER was 34.4±15.7° and the JOA score was 84.3 points. In the conservative group, flexion was 138±34.2°, abduction was 131±24.1°, ER was 35±15.4° and the JOA score was 83.6 points. There were no significant differences between the operative group and the conservative group. In this study, we have the same clinical results for operative treatment and conservative treatment of the great tuberosity fracture of the humerus with more than 5mm-upper displacement.
