Evaldas Šivickas¹, Benediktas Antanas Los¹, Mantas Giedraitis²  

¹Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Academy of Medicine, Kaunas, Lithuania

² Department of Orthopedics-Traumatology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

Abstract

Introduction: Although proximal humerus fractures are not very common in the current population, there is a tendency for this type of fracture to increase in the future due to longer lifespan. Most of these fractures are associated with osteoporosis and because of the aging population it is expected that proximal humerus fractures in the future will become a more and more common problem for surgeons and it will receive more attention in the academic community. At this moment there is no sufficient data for publishing guidelines and surgeons don’t agree on the same management options. This topic is quite controversial. In this literature review we discussed and concluded indications for surgical and conservative treatment, most common surgical management options, including benefits and drawbacks for each of the methods.

Aim: To review and analyze scientific publications, including indications and different surgical management options for proximal humerus fractures.

Methods: A search of scientific articles was performed in PubMed, ClinicalKey databases. The literature review includes more than 30 scientific publications including indications and surgical management options for proximal humerus fractures.

Results: After analysis of the literature detailed indications and different surgical manegement options are presented in this review.

Keywords: Proximal humerus fracture, operative treatment, conservative treatment, intramedullary nail.