Operative treatment of the scapular fractures through modified Judet approach

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of operative treatment of scapular fractures through modified Judet approach. METHODS: From January 1997 to October 2005, 21 patients (15 females, 6 males; mean age 34 years) of scapular fractures were treated by open reduction and internal fixation through the modified Judet approach. According to Hardegger classification system, there were 11 patients of scapular body fractures, 10 patients of scapular neck fractures, 8 patients of glenoid rim fractures, 7 patients of glenoid fossa fractures, 9 patients of scapular spine fractures, and 6 patients of scapular acromion fractures. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were followed up with an average of 21 months (range 6 months-4 years). According to Rowe scores system, 12 patients showed excellent, 3 showed good, 2 showed fair, and 1 showed poor. CONCLUSIONS: The modified Judet approaches have the advantages of wide exploration, safety, and easy fixation. It is a good choice to the operation for most types of scapular fractures through the modified Judet approach.