A Prospective, Randomised Long-term Follow-up of Operative Versus Non-operative Treatment of Gr. 3 Acromioclavicular Dislocation

The optimal treatment of Rockwood type 3 AC joint injuries is still controversial. This controversy results from the low level of evidence of the early literature and the evaluation of all AC joint injuries with a type I through III classification system. There are no prospective randomized controlled long-term studies on the treatment of Tossy type 3 AC dislocation using primary repair and minimal pin fixation. In this study, the non-surgical treatment consisted of immobilisation of the injured AC-joint in a Kenny-Howard-type splint for four weeks. The surgical treatment consisted of an open reduction and fixation of the AC joint with two smooth Kirschner wires (2 mm in diameter) across the AC-joint. The K-wires were bent at the proximal ends, with suturing of the superior AC ligament.