Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis

Abstract Background No consensus exists on the treatment of proximal humerus fractures, especially in the elderly patients with osteoporosis. This study was aimed to evaluate the biomechanical characteristics of a novel external fixator in treating two-part surgical neck fracture of the proximal hum...

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Main Author: Haijing Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2019-05-01
Series:BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12891-019-2599-8
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author Haijing Huang
author_facet Haijing Huang
author_sort Haijing Huang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background No consensus exists on the treatment of proximal humerus fractures, especially in the elderly patients with osteoporosis. This study was aimed to evaluate the biomechanical characteristics of a novel external fixator in treating two-part surgical neck fracture of the proximal humerus in the elderly patients with osteoporosis. Methods Sixteen female elderly humeral shaft specimens with osteoporosis were randomized into 2 groups. Models with the surgical neck two-part fracture of the proximal humerus were built, in which a novel external fixator (test group) and a clover plate (control group) were applied separately. In the test group, the fracture was firstly fixed with intersection pinning using 3 Schanz pins (3.5 mm), followed by the novel external fixation frame. In the control group, a clover plate and 6 cortical bone screws were applied. Biomechanical testing of the specimens was performed to assess the resistance to load bearing and torsional stress. The parameters of the two groups were compared using independent t-test. Results Ultimate bearing capacity and load bearing at different parts with the humerus rotation were higher (P < 0.05) in the external fixator group (145.16 ± 17.42 N and 140 N respectively) than those in the plate group (120.21 ± 13.15 N and 69.63 ± 25.16–90.78 ± 17.18 N respectively). As for resistance to torsional stress, plate’s torque fluctuated between 1 Nm and 5 Nm, while the external fixator’s torque values were more evenly (P < 0.01) distributed with the fluctuation within 1 Nm. Conclusions In the fixation of two-part humeral fracture in elderly patients with osteoporosis, the new external fixator seemed to be superior to plate fixation in load bearing and resistance to torsional stress.
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spelling doaj.art-6ed951ebe45e4949b6adbf9d1ce68faf2022-12-22T00:22:32ZengBMCBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders1471-24742019-05-012011710.1186/s12891-019-2599-8Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysisHaijing Huang0Department of trauma Orthopedic, Tianjin HospitalAbstract Background No consensus exists on the treatment of proximal humerus fractures, especially in the elderly patients with osteoporosis. This study was aimed to evaluate the biomechanical characteristics of a novel external fixator in treating two-part surgical neck fracture of the proximal humerus in the elderly patients with osteoporosis. Methods Sixteen female elderly humeral shaft specimens with osteoporosis were randomized into 2 groups. Models with the surgical neck two-part fracture of the proximal humerus were built, in which a novel external fixator (test group) and a clover plate (control group) were applied separately. In the test group, the fracture was firstly fixed with intersection pinning using 3 Schanz pins (3.5 mm), followed by the novel external fixation frame. In the control group, a clover plate and 6 cortical bone screws were applied. Biomechanical testing of the specimens was performed to assess the resistance to load bearing and torsional stress. The parameters of the two groups were compared using independent t-test. Results Ultimate bearing capacity and load bearing at different parts with the humerus rotation were higher (P < 0.05) in the external fixator group (145.16 ± 17.42 N and 140 N respectively) than those in the plate group (120.21 ± 13.15 N and 69.63 ± 25.16–90.78 ± 17.18 N respectively). As for resistance to torsional stress, plate’s torque fluctuated between 1 Nm and 5 Nm, while the external fixator’s torque values were more evenly (P < 0.01) distributed with the fluctuation within 1 Nm. Conclusions In the fixation of two-part humeral fracture in elderly patients with osteoporosis, the new external fixator seemed to be superior to plate fixation in load bearing and resistance to torsional stress.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12891-019-2599-8Surgical neck fracture of humerusExternal fixatorPlateLoad bearingResistance to torsional stress
spellingShingle Haijing Huang
Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis
BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
Surgical neck fracture of humerus
External fixator
Plate
Load bearing
Resistance to torsional stress
title Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis
title_full Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis
title_fullStr Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis
title_full_unstemmed Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis
title_short Treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis: biomechanical analysis
title_sort treatment of the surgical neck fracture of the humerus with a novel external fixator in the elderly with osteoporosis biomechanical analysis
topic Surgical neck fracture of humerus
External fixator
Plate
Load bearing
Resistance to torsional stress
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12891-019-2599-8
work_keys_str_mv AT haijinghuang treatmentofthesurgicalneckfractureofthehumeruswithanovelexternalfixatorintheelderlywithosteoporosisbiomechanicalanalysis