The floating shoulder

Acta Orthop Belg. 2004 Oct;70(5):393-400.

Abstract

Ipsilateral fracture of the clavicle and scapula is considered to be a relatively rare injury. It is perceived as an unstable injury and is at times called floating shoulder. Understanding of the role played by the bony and ligament stability is important to identify true floating shoulder injury and to offer an appropriate treatment. Both conservative and surgical treatment modalities are described in the literature. Recent literature has shown the important role played by the ligaments in providing stability in ipsilateral fracture of the clavicle and scapula. In a true floating shoulder injury, it seems important to stabilise the injury by fixation of the scapular fracture. This article reviews the literature to identify the injury pattern of true floating shoulder and to look at the current evidence for the treatment of such an injury.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Clavicle / injuries*
  • Female
  • Fracture Fixation / adverse effects
  • Fracture Fixation / methods
  • Humans
  • Immobilization / methods
  • Injury Severity Score
  • Joint Instability / etiology
  • Joint Instability / physiopathology*
  • Joint Instability / therapy
  • Male
  • Prognosis
  • Range of Motion, Articular / physiology
  • Recovery of Function
  • Risk Assessment
  • Scapula / injuries*
  • Shoulder Fractures / diagnosis*
  • Shoulder Fractures / therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome