DISPLACED FRACTURES OF THE GLENOID FOSSA - RESULTS OF OPEN REDUCTION AND INTERNAL-FIXATION

Displaced fractures of the glenoid fossa are an uncommon and anatomica lly diverse group of injuries, Failure to restore anatomy in these fra ctures results in poor outcome in most cases, The success of a treatme nt protocol that encompasses appropriate preoperative imaging, injury pattern assessment, prudent approach choice, and a comprehensive reduc tion and fixation tactic was evaluated, Twenty-seven patients mere ass essed clinically and radiographically at a mean followup interval of 4 3 months from surgery Anatomic reconstruction was achieved in 24 (89%) patients, Three patients had residual joint incongruities measuring 2 mm or less, The only perioperative complication was a partial superfi cial wound dehiscence. Two additional patients had infraspinatus palsi es of indeterminate origin, Functional rating revealed six (22%) excel lent, 16 (60%) good, three (11%) fair, and two (7%) poor outcomes, The fair and poor outcomes largely were related to associated injuries, T hese findings show that anatomic surgical reconstruction with a low co mplication rate and good functional outcome can be obtained for most p atients with glenoid fossa fractures.