Treatment of nonunions of the humeral shaft with nonvascularized fibular strut allograft: postoperative outcomes and review of a surgical technique.

Hypothesis: Persistent humeral shaft nonunions result in continued pain and disability of the affected arm and are difficult to treat even with several surgical procedures and locked plating. A fibular allograft provides bony purchase for fixation as well as rotational stability and bridging of nonunion defects.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of a single surgeon's clinical practice between July 1995 and January 2011. The inclusion criteria were patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent revision surgery for a humeral shaft nonunion by open reduction and revision internal fixation with a supplementary fibular strut allograft.

Results: Thirteen patients who met the inclusion criteria were evaluated with physical examinations, validated functional outcome measures, and radiographs to assess union rates. The mean follow-up period was 7.5 years (range, 0.5-15.6 years); there were 11 women (85%) and 2 men (15%). Of the patients, 3 (23%) had proximal-third nonunions, 7 (54%) had middle-third nonunions, and 3 (23%) had distal-third nonunions. After revision surgery with fibular allograft, 10 of 13 patients went on to achieve healing, giving a union rate of 76.9%. The mean postoperative Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score was 38.1 points (standard deviation [SD], 27.6 points). The mean Constant score was 55.2 points (SD, 24.0 points), representing a 62% return of function compared with the contralateral side. The mean postoperative American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score was 65.4 points (SD, 28.5 points), and the average visual analog scale pain score (out of 10) was 2.1 (SD, 3.3) at final follow-up.

Conclusion: Fibular allograft is an effective and straightforward option for treating humeral midshaft and distal-shaft nonunions; however, treatment of proximal-third nonunions remains challenging.