RESEARCH ARTICLE


Early Results of the A.L.P.S. Proximal Humerus Locking Plate



Miltiadis Argyropoulos*, Matthew Kent
Department of Trauma & Orthopaedics, Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital Trust, Appointment of Registrar Trauma & Orthopaedics, Prescot St, Liverpool L7 8XP, UK


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Creative Commons License
© 2018 Argyropoulos and Kent.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Trauma & Orthopaedics, Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospital Trust, Miltiadis Argyropoulos, Prescot St, Liverpool L7 8XP, UK; Tel: +44(0)7894470150; E-mail: miltos.argyropoulos@googlemail.com


Abstract

Background:

Open reduction internal fixation of displaced 3 and 4-part proximal humerus fractures is an effective treatment modality particularly for the younger age group, but it is not without complications. Fixed angled locking screw plates are the mainstay of fixation. The A.L.P.S. Proximal Humerus Plating System is a new implant that has smooth locking pegs in the place of humeral head screws to help reduce glenoid damage in the event of cut-out and is designed to sit low on the humerus in order to reduce the risk of subacromial impingement.

Methods:

Retrospective analysis of 15 consecutive patients who sustained closed displaced 3-part or 4-part fractures and had fixation surgery using the A.L.P.S. plate. Outcome measures were the time to radiographic and clinical union, Oxford Shoulder Score, quick DASH score and complications.

Results:

Average follow-up was 31.9 weeks. Union was achieved in 100% of patients with a mean time to union of 15.1 weeks. In terms of function, mean OSS was 33.6 and mean quick DASH was 32.5. There were no instances of AVN.

Conclusion:

Our preliminary results of 15 patients followed up for a mean of 31.9 weeks show equitable union rates and time to union as well as functional scores compared to other available plating systems. This is the first study to report on this implant to date.

Keywords: Proximal humerus, fracture, A.L.P.S., ALPS, locking plate, trauma, fixation.