Bilateral posterior fracture dislocation of the shoulders : review of case reports and treatment

Abstract

Bilateral Posterior Fracture Dislocation (BPFD) of the shoulder is an uncommon but not rare presentation. We describe etiology, diagnostics, treatments and outcome and give a historic review and with a current approach of this pathology. We reviewed 55 cases (110 shoulders), mostly men (49/55) , with a mean age of 49.2 years, mean follow up 21.9 months, mean delay until diagnose of 12.7 days (0-112 days), with a seizure as the cause in 80.0% . Other causes are electrocution, trauma or other. If the mechanism is not clear an epileptic insult should be considered the cause until proven otherwise. Closed reduction or mini open reduction is common in the more dated literature, but gives a overall good outcome. Arthroplasty is the prefered method in the more recent literature. Autografts from the shoulder treated with arthroplasty can be used to reconstruct the articular surface of the contralateral shoulder. High index of suspicion is important and a CT is most important diagnostic tool.