Author(s)

Walter Hugo Brandão Nascimento¹, Paulo Renan Matos Sucupira Cunha², João Pedro Pimentel Abreu^3,4, Lethycia Pereira Rosa⁴, Kamilly Iêda Silva Veigas⁴, Rodrigo Martins Silva Caetano⁵

¹Orthopedic and Trauma Surgeon, Brazilian Army, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
²Orthopedic and Trauma Surgeon, São Luís, Brazil.
³Scholarship Holder, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), São Luís, Brazil.
⁴School of Medicine, Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), São Luís, Brazil.
⁵Orthopedic and Trauma Surgeon, Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Specialist, University Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão (HUUFMA/EBSERH), São Luís, Brazil.

Introduction: The acromioclavicular joint is a superficial diarthrodial joint that surrounds the medial articular facet of the acromion and the distal portion of the clavicle. Due to its anatomy and biomechanics, it is highly susceptible to trauma and in young men who play contact sports, acromioclavicular dislocation is common. This article aimed to systematically review the literature and compare the surgical techniques used in the treatment of acromioclavicular dislocation in patients who practice sports. Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the International Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Eligible studies for this systematic review included articles in English or Spanish published between 2013 and 2023, which mention the occurrence of acromioclavicular dislocation during sports practices. Additionally, only studies that addressed the surgical treatment of acromion-clavicular dislocation and contained original data on the topic were included. Results: We found 144 eligible studies after searching the LILACS and PubMed databases. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the reviewers’ consensus, we selected four studies for the systematic review. 133 patients with AC joint displacement were evaluated. Mean Age: approximately 31.90 years. 81.92 of these injuries occurred during sports practice. Surgical Procedures Used: titanium plates fixation (49 patients), arthroscopy (24), single tunnel technique (30) and coracoid sling technique (30). The results of the visual analog scale and Constant-Murley scores varied between the techniques used. Twenty-two complications after surgical treatment were identified. Conclusion: A significant variability of operative techniques can be used in the surgical approach of acromioclavicular dislocation, such as arthroscopy, single tunnel, coracoid sling and titanium plates. Although it presented excellent functional results compared to the other three techniques evaluated by this review, using titanium plates is not the gold standard since other techniques not assessed by this work may be more effective.

Acromioclavicular Joint, Shoulder Dislocation, Surgical Procedure, Postoperative Complications, Postoperative Care

Nascimento, W. , Cunha, P. , Abreu, J. , Rosa, L. , Veigas, K. and Caetano, R. (2024) Comparison of Surgical Techniques Used in Treating Acromioclavicular Dislocation in Patients Participating in Sports: A Systematic Review. Open Journal of Orthopedics, 14, 41-52. doi: 10.4236/ojo.2024.141005.