Postoperative Comparative Evaluation of Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Acute Versus Chronic Acromioclavicular Dislocations

Objectives The present study evaluates and compares the surgical treatment of acute and chronic acromioclavicular dislocations (ACDs) to define the most effective therapeutic plan. Methods A retrospective study consisting of 30 patients submitted to the surgical treatment of types III and V ACDs between 2011 and 2018; the subjects were separated according to a temporal classification in acute (< 3 weeks; subgroup I) and chronic (> 3 weeks; subgroup II) subgroups. All patients underwent a postsurgical evaluation with a standardized protocol containing epidemiological, functional, and radiological data. Results Subgroup I presented a visual analog scale (VAS) score of 1.10, a Constant-Murley score of 92.3, and a University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Rating score of 33.5. The coracoclavicular (CC) distance was of 11.0 mm, and the average increase in CC space was lower than 8.9% compared to the contralateral shoulder. In subgroup II, the VAS score was of 1.11, the Constant-Murley score was of 94.2, and the UCLA score was of 32.4. The CC distance was of 13.8 mm, with a 22.9% increase in CC space compared to the contralateral side. Conclusion Although there was no significant difference between the evaluated items, subgroup I tended to present a lower CC distance ( p = 0.098) and a lower percentage increase in CC distance ( p = 0.095) compared to subgroup II. Thus, the surgical treatment must be performed within three weeks after the trauma to try to avoid such trend. If the acute treatment is not possible, the modified Weaver Dunn technique has good clinical and functional outcomes.