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Acromioclavicular Joint Injuries and Reconstruction

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Abstract

Various surgical techniques have been described for the treatment of acute acromioclavicular joint separations. As none of these could outperform the others, to date no gold standard for the treatment of AC joint separations Rockwood grades 3 to 5 exists.

This chapter presents a safe and reproducible arthroscopically assisted surgical technique that addresses both the coracoclavicular and the acromioclavicular ligaments to achieve optimal vertical and horizontal stability of the AC joint. Therefore a transclavicular-transcoracoidal tunnel is established to pull in high-strength suture material with small titanium buttons under the coracoid process and on top of the clavicle. To improve horizontal stability, an additional cerclage is placed over the acromioclavicular joint. Indications, studies for accurate diagnostics, the surgical technique, and postoperative treatment are described in detail.

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Correspondence to Andreas B. Imhoff .

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Braun, S., Martetschläger, F., Imhoff, A.B. (2014). Acromioclavicular Joint Injuries and Reconstruction. In: Doral, M., Karlsson, J. (eds) Sports Injuries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36801-1_29-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36801-1_29-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36801-1

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