Efficacy of Two Therapeutic Techniques for the Treatment of Acromioclavicular Dislocations

Acromioclavicular dislocations are one of the most frequent traumatic lesions of the scapular girdle. They represent the 40-50% of the sport related shoulder injuries. There are different grades of dislocations being classified by Altman- Rockwood in 6 types. There is consensus for non operative treatment in types 1 and 2 and for surgical treatment in types 4, 5 and 6. For type 3 both therapeutic techniques are accepted with no high scientific evidence studies supporting either of them. During de 70's, surgical treatment was recommended for all these lesions but in the early 90´s surgeons´s preferences changed into the non-operative treatment. Now a day, treatment is decided according to the surgeon experience and the functional demands of the patient. The aim of this study is to compare the results of non-operative treatment and open reduction and internal fixation with a coracoclavicular reconstruction device (MINAR-STORZ) in grade III acromioclavicular dislocations.