Forty-nine joints with traumatic acromioclavicular (A-C) dislocation were reviewed, and the influential factors over a long term were studied.
The forty-nine joints of 44 males and 2 females were followed-up for an average period of 6 years and 9 months. The average age at the time of injury was 33 years and the types of injury consisted of type 2(26 joints)and type 3(23 joints) as classified by Tossy. The injuries were caused by traffic accidents inflicted by someone else (8 joints), industrial accidents (4 joints) and the others sport's injuries (37 joints). Thirty-nine joints were treated within a week after the injury and the other 10were treated one month or more after. The methods of treatment were conservative (16 joints), a percutaneous fixation by Kirschner wires (15 joints) and a reconstruction of the A-C ligament (17joints). The results of each joint were evaluated clinically and radiologically by both the criterias of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association and Kawabe's scores. The results were compared and analyzed considering the age, the type of dislocation, the method of treatment, the cause of the injury and the time of the initial treatment.
In this series, the methods of treatment, the type of dislocation and the delays in the initial treatment were insignificant. However, in these injuries in which the patients had some sort of personal benefit, such as a traffic accident inflicted by someone else or an industrial accident, the results were poorer than those cases, such as sport's injuries. Considering the age factor, the older the patient the poorer the results.
