Complications Of Humeral Head Replacement for Proximal Humeral Fractures

Results after humeral head replacement for the treatment of acute proximal humeral fractures have been mixed. The variability in the reported outcomes reflects the technical factors related to the reconstruction, the timing of the surgery, the nature of the patient population, and the different methods of assessing the results. Hemiarthroplasty for the treatment of proximal humeral fractures provides good-to-excellent pain relief in 73% to 97% of patients1–5. Patients are generally satisfied with the procedure, as reflected by the 70% to 92% satisfaction rates in most series1,4,6–10. Functional outcomes, however, have been variable. One of the more commonly utilized outcome instruments is the Constant score, which measures four clinical parameters, including pain, range of motion, power, and activities of daily living, on a 100-point scale. Using this system, some authors have reported average scores as low as 38 points whereas others have reported average scores as high as 68 points3–5,10–12. Within each series, however, there has been a broad range of results, with excellent outcomes in some patients and poor results in others4,5,9,11,13,14.