Do postoperative outcomes vary between midshaft clavicle fractures of 2, 3, or more than 3 fragments?

This study aims to assess differences in clinical and surgical outcomes associated with the surgical treatment of midshaft clavicle fractures of different complexities based on fragment number. Additionally, the investigation seeks to present the outcomes of a series of patients who underwent surgery at our institution.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the medical records of patients aged over 18 who underwent midshaft clavicle fracture surgery at our center from November 2009 to May 2021. Patients were categorized based on the number of fracture fragments into groups of two, three, or more than three fragments. Consolidation, implant removal, complications, surgical duration, and functional outcomes (assessed through VAS, ASES, and Constant–Murley scale) were evaluated for each specific group and for the overall cohort.

In total, 260 patients were analyzed. There were no significant differences in any of the parameters between the three groups except for surgical time, which was shorter in simple fractures than in those with more than three fragments (68.2 min vs. 75.3 min; p = 0.01). Pseudoarthrosis rate was 2.69%, implant removal rate was 9.61%, and 4.23% of patients presented with complications other than the previous ones. Functional results were excellent, with averages of 97.3 (72.7–100) for the ASES score, 97.5 (75–100) for the Constant score, and 0.6 (0–8) on the VAS.

According to our results, there were no differences in postoperative results between simple and multifragmentary midshaft clavicle fractures. Patients across all groups reported satisfactory results.