Minimally invasive surgery for complex scapular fractures through small incisions combined with titanium miniplate fixation

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of surgery through small incisions combined with titanium miniplate fixation for complex fractures of the scapula. Fifty-two cases of scapular fractures treated with different surgical methods at our hospital between October 2008 and October 2013 were included in the study. Of these, 27 patients were randomly selected to undergo traditional surgical treatments (control group), and 25 patients were selected to undergo surgery through small incisions combined with titanium miniplate fixation (experimental group). The Hardegger evaluation method was used for rating the functional outcomes. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 17.0 software. The differences in the wound infection rates and favorable Hardegger functional assessment scores between the two groups were compared by using X-2 tests. Comparisons of the operative time, blood loss, hospital stay, and fracture healing time were performed by using t tests. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Significantly different treatment results were observed for wound infection, Hardegger function score (X-2 = 4.086, P = 0.043), and bleeding amount (t = 5.454, P < 0.001). Conversely, the differences in operative time (t = 0.128, P = 0.9), fracture healing time (t = 1.732, P = 0.096), and length of hospital stay (t = 0.339, P = 0.737) were not statistically significant. Surgery through small incisions combined with titanium miniplate fixation was significantly superior to the traditional surgical methods for complex fractures of the scapula in terms of wound infection, Hardegger function score, and bleeding amount.