Background: The acromioclavicular (AC) joint is of great importance for shoulder stability and one of the most frequently injured regions of the shoulder.
Hypothesis: AC joint reconstruction with the ligament augmentation & reconstruction system (LARS™) leads to a good-to-excellent outcome at long-term follow-up.
Patients and methods: This study was performed as a retrospective single-centre data analysis of a level-I trauma centre. All patients treated operatively for an acute AC dislocation with the LARS™ between 2003 and 2013 were included.
Results: The study group consisted of three female (6%) and 44 male patients (94%) with an average age of 37 years and a minimum follow-up of two years. The overall mean clinical outcomes at latest follow-up were: Constant 93, DASH 2.64, ASES 96, SST 97, UCLA 34 and VAS 0.4-representing a good-to-excellent outcome in all patients. Overall, 45 patients (96%) reported to be very satisfied with the achieved result at latest follow-up. In five patients, (11%) complications occurred during the follow-up period, requiring surgical revision in four of the five patients (80%).
Conclusion: AC joint reconstruction with the LARS™ achieves good-to-excellent clinical and functional outcomes at long-term follow-up with a surgical revision rate of 8.5%.
Level of evidence: Retrospective follow-up study, case series, level IV.
Keywords: AC joint reconstruction; Clinical outcome; Functional outcome; LARS™; Long-term follow-up; Rockwood III–V.
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