Percutaneous humeral plating of fractures of the proximal humerus: Results of a prospective Multicenter clinical trial

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and functional outcome of a recently described surgical technique of percutaneous plating for proximal humerus fractures. Design: Prospective clinical trial. Setting: Two urban Level 1 university trauma centers. Patients: From February 2002 to December 2003, 34 consecutive 1 patients underwent surgery by 5 trauma surgeons from 2 teaching hospitals. Twenty-seven patients had 1-year follow-up. Intervention: The technique involved 2 minimal incisions with a lateral deltoid split and a more distal shaft incision. A proximal humerus-specific locking plate was implemented. Main Outcome Measurements: DASH (disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand) and Constant-Murley evaluation scores were used for functional evaluation. The presence of complications was noted. Results: Specifically, there were no axillary nerve injury injuries and no loss of reduction. The average Constant score at 1 year was 82 and the DASH score was 26. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the functional outcome results correspond to a normal age-adjusted score signifying an acceptable result.