Background: This report deals with the advantages and disadvantages associated with the most commonly used methods of stabilization after a pathologic fracture of the humerus shaft.
Patients: A total of 39 patients with 41 metastatic lesions and pathologic fractures of the humerus, treated surgically between 1992 and 2007, were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: The rate of local complications was 14.6% (6 of 41). Radial nerve injury was the only local complication and was exclusively observed in patients who underwent open reduction and plate fixation. The overall rate of osteosynthesis failure was 12.2% (5 of 41). Two failures were observed in 21 patients with open reductions and plate fixations, compared with three failures in 20 procedures involving closed reductions and intramedullary stabilization. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 0.35 and 0.2 in ORIF and 0.07 and 0 in patients with IM fixation retrospectively.
Conclusion: Intramedullary stabilization is a reliable method for fixation of pathologic fractures of the humerus diaphysis for patients in the advanced stage of metastatic disease. ORIF are preferable to IM fixations for the treatment of metaphyseal fractures and for those patients with a solitary metastasis in the humerus or those with a better prognosis.