ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility of the 3rd-6th intercostal nerve transfer to the suprascapular nerve for reconstruction of shoulder abduction. MethodsFifteen thoracic walls (30 sides) were collected from human cadavers. The 3rd-6th intercostal nerve length which can be dissected between the midaxillary line and midclavicular line, and the transfer distance between the midaxillary line and midpoint of the clavicular bone (prepared point for neurotization) were measured. ResultsIn 30 sides of specimens, the 3rd and 4th intercostal nerves could be obtained between the midaxillary line and midclavicular line, the available length of which was significantly greater than the transfer distance (P lt; 0.01). Six sides of the 5th intercostal nerve and 16 sides of 6th intercostal nerve were covered by the costal cartilage before reaching the midclavicular line. The available length of the 5th intercostal nerve was similar to the transfer distance (P gt; 0.01), while the available length of the 6th intercostal nerve was significantly less than transfer distance (P lt; 0.01). The suprascapular nerve could be dissociated and turned to the clavicular bone of more than 2 cm. The whole length of the available 5th intercostal nerve length and the turning length (2 cm) of suprascapular nerve was significantly greater than the transfer distance (P lt; 0.01), but for the 6th intercostal nerve, the whole length was still less than transfer distance (P lt; 0.01). ConclusionIt could be an alternative method to use the 3rd, 4th, and 5th intercostal nerve transfer to the suprascapular nerve for reconstruction of shoulder abduction. And for the 6th intercostal nerve, longer dissociated length may be required for direct coaptation or using a graft for nerve repair.
Objective To discuss the reconstruction of severe neck contracture by transplanting combined scapular/parascapular bilobar flaps, and the probability to reestablish three-dimensional movement of the neck. Methods From January 2003 to November 2004, 9 cases of sustained severeneck contractures were treated (aged 9-32 years). The combined scapular/parascapular bilobar flaps, pedicled on the circumflex scapular vascular bundle, were microsurgically used to cover the soft tissue defect after excision of hypertrophic scar and release of contracture. The maximum size of the combined bilobar flap was 20 cm×8 cm to 20 cm×11 cm，while the minimum one was 15 cm×4 cm to 15 cm×6 cm. Results The combined scapular/parascapular flapswere successfully used to treat 9 cases of severe neck contracture. All patients were satisfied with the final functional and aesthetic results. There was no recurrence during 3-9 months follow-up for 8 patients. The cervicomental angle was 90-105°.Conclusion The combined bilobar scapular/parscapular flap, providing a large area of tissue for coverage in three dimensions with a reliable blood supply by only one pedicle anastomosis during operation, is agood option for reconstruction of the severe neck contracture.
Objective To discuss the optimal approach to treat suprascapular nerve compression syndrome. Methods From January 2000 to June 2003, 8 cases of suprascapular nerve compression syndrome were treated by surgical intervention to cut the transverse scapular ligament through posterior approach. Of the 8 patients, there were 2 males and 6 females (age ranged from 21 to 53) with duration of 6 months to 3 years. The change of symptom, muscle power, and muscle atrophy after operation were observed. Results One week after operation, pain around the scapular disappeared, muscle power of supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles recovered to normal. One, 6, 12 and 16 months after the operation, the patients were followed up. No recurrence was observed. Muscle atrophy didn’t recover.Conclusion To treat suprascapular nerve compression syndrome with operation through posterior approach is easy to operate. When the suprascapular nerve is entrapped in scapular notch, this approach is a good choice.
Objective To introduce a new design of the scapular flap.Methods The lateral descending cutaneous branch of the circumflex scapular artery was investigated in 10 cadavers with radiography. Based on the results, we usedthe scapular flap(from 8 cm×25 cm to 11 cm×35 cm) pedical on the lateral descending cutaneous branch of the circumflex scapular artery to reconstruct defects offaciocervical region after burning in 7 patients, with direct suture the donatearea,or skin grafting.Results Sever flaps survived completely, satisfactoryresults were obtained except 2 patients’ flap to need to be thinned during the following up.Conclusion This flap can be designed to extend to the inframamary fold, the donor-site scar of the flap is well hidden. The design of the flap broadens the application of the scapular flap.
OBJECTIVE To study the anatomical basis of vascularized spina scapular bone flap, which was used in mandibular reconstruction. METHODS Fifteen adult cadavers were adopted in this study. The two common carotid arteries of each cadaver were intubed and perfused with red emulsion respectively. Then the course and distribution of the transverse cervical artery(TCA) and its spina scapular branches were observed on 30 sides. RESULTS The TCA was divided into two segments: the cervical segment originated from the origin of the artery to the superior margin of the trapezius muscle, and the dorsal segment originated from the superior margin of the trapezius muscle to the site where the TCA bifurcated into the superficial and deep branches. The average length and original caliber of the cervical segment were(4.7 +/- 0.1) cm and (4.0 +/- 0.1) mm. The average length and original caliber of the dorsal segment were (5.88 +/- 0.63) cm and (3.30 +/- 0.35) mm. 86.7% spina scapular branches originated from the superficial branch of TCA and 13.3% from TCA. The length of the spina scapular branch was (4.97 +/- 1.68) cm and its external diameter was (2.08 +/- 0.27) mm. It constantly sent 4-8 periosteal branches to spina with 0.20-1.25 mm in caliber. CONCLUSION The spina scapular branch of TCA is one of the main blood supplier to the spina scapular area. The spina scapular flap pedicled with spina scapular branch of TCA may provide a new operation for mandibular reconstruction, whose circumpoint locates at the origin of the dorsal segment and the average length of the pedicle is 10.85 cm which enough to transposite to mandibular area.
ObjectiveTo discuss the effectiveness of Poking reduction with shoulder arthroscopy-assisted surgery for displaced scapular neck fracture. MethodsBetween January 2009 and January 2012,9 cases of displaced scapular neck fracture underwent shoulder arthroscopy-assisted surgery for Poking reduction treatment.Of 9 cases,6 were men,and 3 were women,aged 21-54 years (mean,39 years).The causes were traffic accident injury in 7 cases,falling injury from height in 1 case,and hurt injury in 1 case.The shoulder abduction,flexion,and external rotation were obviously limited.X-ray films showed all cases had obvious displaced scapular neck fracture.Three-dimensional reconstruction of CT showed a grossly displaced of fracture.The time of injury to surgery was 4-27 days (mean,11 days). ResultsPatients obtained healing of incision by first intension,without infection,neurovascular injury,or other surgery-related complications.All patients were followed up 19-31 months (mean,23 months).X-ray films showed scapular neck fractures healed from 7 to 11 weeks (mean,8 weeks).At last follow-up,the shoulder abduction,flexion,and external rotation activity were improved significantly when compared with ones at preoperation (P<0.05);the shoulder Constant score,American Shoulder and Elbow Surgenos (ASES) score,and Rowe score were significantly better than preoperative scores (P<0.05). ConclusionThe reduction of displaced scapular neck fracture is necessary,and arthroscopic Poking reduction and fixation for displaced scapular neck fracture can reconstruct the shoulder stability and reduce complications
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of total scapular arthroplasty after total scapulectomy for scapular tumors.MethodsA clinical data of 17 patients with scapular tumors treated with total scapulectomy and total scapular arthroplasty between January 2010 and December 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. There were 9 males and 8 females with an average age of 34.4 years (range, 13-64 years). Seven patients were diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, 3 with osteosarcoma, 2 with Ewing’s sarcoma, 1 with high-grade sarcoma, 1 with polymorphic dedifferentiated sarcoma, 1 with fibrosarcoma, 1 with plasmacytoma, and 1 with bone giant cell tumor. According to the surgical staging system described by Enneking et al, 1 patient was rated as stage 3, 8 as stageⅠB, 8 as stageⅡB. According to the classifications of shoulder girdle resections of Malawer et al, 11 patients were type ⅢB, 5 were type ⅣB, 1 was type ⅥB. The disease duration ranged from 0.5 to 8.0 months (mean, 3.2 months) and tumor size ranged from 11.0 cm×7.5 cm×6.0 cm to 18.5 cm×18.0 cm×12.5 cm. The 1993 Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) upper limb function scoring system and shoulder mobility were used to evaluate postoperative shoulder joint function. Tumor recurrence and metastases were monitored by radiograph.ResultsPoor superficial incision healing occurred in 1 patient, the rest incisions achieved healing by first intention. All patients were followed up 20-72 months (mean, 45.4 months). Two of the 17 patients died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome caused by tumor metastases; 3 patients suffered from pulmonary metastases and were alive with disease. No local recurrence occurred in all patients. The overall survival rate was 88.2% (15/17) and the disease-free survival rate was 70.6% (12/17). Rib fracture after trauma, aseptic loosening, and atrophy of the deltoid muscle occurred in 1, 1, and 1 case, respectively. The other related complication was not observed. At last follow-up, the MSTS score was 26.1±1.4, and the flexion, extension, and abduction range of motion of shoulder joint were (70.0±7.5), (31.2±11.3), and (54.4 ±12.5) °, respectively.ConclusionReconstruction with total scapular arthroplasty after total scapulectomy can obtain a satisfactory shoulder contour and an acceptable functional outcomes in patients with scapular tumors.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of double internal fixations of clavicle and scapula and intraoperative reduction of glenopolar angle in the treatment of floating shoulder injuries.MethodsBetween January 2010 and June 2019, 13 patients with floating shoulder injury were treated with double internal fixation of clavicle and scapula and intraoperative reduction of glenopolar angle. There were 11 males and 2 females with an average age of 48 years (range, 25-65 years). The causes of injury included falling from height in 2 cases, traffic accident injury in 3 cases, heavy object injury in 2 cases, and other injuries in 6 cases. There were 2 cases of Ⅰ-B-3 type, 1 case of Ⅰ-C-2 type, 1 case of Ⅰ-C-3 type, 3 cases of Ⅱ-B-2 type, 1 case of Ⅱ-B-3 type, 1 case of Ⅱ-B-4 type, 2 cases of Ⅱ-C-2 type, 1 case of Ⅱ-C-4 type, and 1 case of Ⅱ-D-3 type according to the classification of floating shoulder injury. All patients had unilateral clavicle fracture with scapular neck fracture, 1-4 superior shoulder suspensory complex (SSSC) injuries. The time from injury to operation was 7-17 days, with an average of 12 days. The glenopolar angle, subacromail space, anteroposterior inclination angle of scapular glenoid, scapular glenoid up and down angle were measured before and after operation; Constant-Murly score and Herscovici score were used to evaluate the recovery of shoulder joint function.ResultsAll incisions healed by first intention, and there was no early postoperative complications such as infection. All 13 cases were followed up 12-48 months, with an average of 25.2 months. Both the clavicle and the scapula had bone union, and the average healing time was 6 months and 4 months respectively. There were no complications such as nonunion, shoulder deformity, plate fracture or failure of internal fixation, acromion impingement syndrome, and frozen shoulder. At last follow-up, the glenopolar angle, subacromail space, anteroposterior inclination angle of scapular glenoid, and scapular glenoid up and down angle were all corrected significantly (P<0.05). The pain, function, activity, muscle strength scores, and total score in Constant-Murly score were significantly improved when compared with preoperative scores (P<0.05). According to the Herscovici scoring standard, the shoulder joint function was evaluated as excellent in 8 cases, good in 3 cases, and fair in 2 cases. The excellent and good rate was 84.6%.ConclusionDouble internal fixation of clavicle and scapula to stabilize SSSC and reduct glenopolar angle during operation is an effective method for treating the floating shoulder injury.
Objective To identify and screen sensitive predictors associated with subscapularis (SSC) tendon tear and develop a web-based dynamic nomogram to assist clinicians in early identification and intervention of SSC tendon tear. Methods Between July 2016 and December 2021, 528 consecutive cases of patients who underwent shoulder arthroscopic surgery with completely MRI and clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Patients admitted between July 2016 and July 2019 were included in the training cohort, and patients admitted between August 2019 and December 2021 were included in the validation cohort. According to the diagnosis of arthroscopy, the patients were divided into SSC tear group and non-SSC tear group. Univariate analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, and 10-fold cross-validation method were used to screen for reliable predictors highly associated with SSC tendon tear in a training set cohort, and R language was used to build a nomogram model for internal and external validation. The prediction performance of the nomogram was evaluated by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve with 1 000 Bootstrap. Receiver operating curves were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic performance (sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, likelihood ratio) of the predictive model and MRI (based on direct signs), respectively. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was used to evaluate the clinical implications of predictive models and MRI. Results The nomogram model showed good discrimination in predicting the risk of SSC tendon tear in patients [C-index=0.878; 95%CI (0.839, 0.918)], and the calibration curve showed that the predicted results were basically consistent with the actual results. The research identified 6 predictors highly associated with SSC tendon tears, including coracohumeral distance (oblique sagittal) reduction, effusion sign (Y-plane), subcoracoid effusion sign, biceps long head tendon displacement (dislocation/subluxation), multiple posterosuperior rotator cuff tears (≥2, supra/infraspinatus), and MRI suspected SSC tear (based on direct sign). Compared with MRI diagnosis based on direct signs of SSC tendon tear, the predictive model had superior sensitivity (80.2% vs. 57.0%), positive predictive value (53.9% vs. 53.3%), negative predictive value (92.7% vs. 86.3%), positive likelihood ratio (3.75 vs. 3.66), and negative likelihood ratio (0.25 vs. 0.51). DCA suggested that the predictive model could produce higher clinical benefit when the risk threshold probability was between 3% and 93%. ConclusionThe nomogram model can reliably predict the risk of SSC tendon tear and can be used as an important tool for auxiliary diagnosis.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of three-dimensional (3D) printed total scapula for reverse shoulder arthroplasty in the treatment of scapular tumors. MethodsBetween November 2017 and December 2021, 5 patients with scapular tumors were treated by reverse shoulder arthroplasty with 3D printed total scapula. There was 1 male and 4 females. The age ranged from 44 to 59 years, with an average of 50.4 years. There were 2 cases of chondro sarcoma, 1 case of high-grade osteosarcoma, 1 case of lung cancer with scapular metastasis, and 1 case of ligamentoid fibromatosis recurrence. The disease duration was 4-8 months, with an average of 5.8 months. According to the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scapular girdle classification criteria, 4 cases of tumors involved both S1 and S2 zones, and 1 case involved S2 zone. The tumor diameters ranged from 4.2 to 11.2 cm, with an average of 6.1 cm. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and blood transfusion were recorded. During follow-up, the MSTS score was used to evaluate the recovery of limb function of the patients. The sink depth of the affected shoulder, complications, and oncological outcomes were observed. The position of the prosthesis was reviewed by imaging. ResultsThe operation time ranged from 155 to 230 minutes, with an average of 189 minutes. The intraoperative blood loss was 100-1 500 mL, with a median of 600 mL. Two patients were received blood transfusion of 800 mL and 1 850 mL respectively during operation. All incisions healed by first intention, and no complications such as infection occurred. All patients were followed up 4-22 months, with an average of 13 months. Two patients died at 8 and 15 months after operation respectively due to multiple metastases and organ failure. At last follow-up, the MSTS score of all patients was 73%-83%, with an average of 77.4%. The affected shoulder was 2-4 cm lower than the contralateral side, with an average of 3 cm. Imaging examinations showed that no prosthesis loosening, dislocation, or fracture occurred during follow-up. Conclusion Reverse shoulder arthroplasty with 3D printed total scapula can obtain good shoulder function and appearance. Patients have high acceptance and satisfaction with this surgical method.