To investigate the clinical effects of Ortho-Bridge system in the treatment of scapular fractures.

A retrospective analysis was performed for the 23 patients with scapular fracture who had been treated with Ortho-Bridge system and followed up completely at Department of Orthopedics, Suzhou Kowloon Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from May 2020 to May 2023. They were 19 males and 4 females with an age of (40.3±11.6) years. The modified Judet approach was adopted in 9 cases and minimally invasive approach in 14 cases in the surgery. The time from injury to surgery was 3.0 (0, 4.0) days. Related perioperative indicators were recorded, including surgery time, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative complications, and fracture healing time. Postoperatively, Constant shoulder score (CSS) and the quick disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (quickDASH) were used to quantify the postoperative efficacy.

All the 23 patients were followed up for (30.1±12.0) months. The surgery time averaged (136.3±32.0) minutes and the intraoperative bleeding (178.3±50.3) mL. The rate of postoperative fracture healing was 100% (23/23), and the fracture healing time 4.0 (3.0, 4.0) months. After surgery, one patient developed superficial infection which was cured by oral antibiotics and dressing change. No other adverse complications occurred. The CSS of the shoulder at the last follow-up was (91.7±3.0) points. The quickDASH score of the upper limb function at the last follow-up averaged (10.4±3.6) points, giving an excellent to good rate of 91.3% (21/23).

In the treatment of scapular fractures, internal fixation with Ortho-Bridge system can result in excellent clinical effects and a low incidence of postoperative complications, because it is simple to handle, limitedly traumatic, flexible and versatile in combination of internal fixation and very personalized.

Scapula; Fracture fixation, internal; Shoulder joint; Ortho-Bridge system