The purpose of this report was to detect the incidence of shoulder joint injuries, we prospectively performed arthroscopic studies at the time of the removal of the internal fixation devices(BEST acromioclavicular plate) in ten patients with distal clavicle fractures. About three months after the operation we removed the BEST plate and performed arthroscopic examinations. Ten patients with distal clavicle fractures were treated with a BEST plate. There were eight males and two females. The average age at the time of surgery was thirty-seven point one years old, with a range from twenty to sixty years old. Arthroscopies revealed chondral injuries of the glenoid fossa in nine patients out of ten. Six SLAP lesions were also noted. From our study we infer chondral injuries of the glenoid fossa are frequently associated with distal clavicle fractures. So we consider that osteoarthritis of the shoulder may develope in the future.
