Surgical management of Rockwood type 3 acromioclavicular joint injuries: a retrospective comparison of outcomes of suture anchor fixation and double-button fixation techniques

The treatment of type 3 acromioclavicular joint injuries has still controversial issues. In this retrospective study, we aimed to compare the radiological and functional outcomes of the suture anchor and double-button fixation methods for the treatment of type 3 acromioclavicular joint injuries. This study included 20 patients who underwent suture anchor (9 patients) and double-button fixations (11 patients) for isolated type 3 acromioclavicular dislocation. Injuries were classified according to the Rockwood Classification System. Coracoclavicular(CC) distances and anterior translation have been measured pre-operatively and at the 12th month follow-up. Functional evaluation was performed using the DASH, and Constant–Murley scores of the patients were recorded at the12th-month follow-up. The mean age of the patients was 37 (22–50) years in Group 1(double-button group) and 39 (24–56) years in Group 2(suture anchor group). All of the patients were male. There was no statistically significant difference between the DASH and Constant–Murley scores of the 2 groups (P > .05). The mean DASH score of the patients evaluated at the postoperative 12th month was 6.65 (0–38.3) in Group 1 and 2.48 (0–4.2) in Group 2. The mean Constant-Murley score of the patients evaluated at the postoperative 12th month was 89,6 (50–98) in Group 1 and 93,6 (90–98) in Group 2. Comparison of the pre- and post-operative CC distances and pre- and post-operative anterior translation distances of both groups revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding postoperative CC distances and anterior translation distances (P > .05). Suture anchor and double-button techniques are reliable treatment methods that are not superior to one another and can yield excellent functional outcomes