Traumatic manubriosternal dislocation

Manubriosternal dislocation is an extremely rare occurrence, especially as the result of an indirect compression injury. Manubriosternal dislocations are divided into two types: In a Type I dislocation, the body of the sternum is displaced in a dorsal direction; in Type II dislocation, the body is displaced to the ventral side of the manubrium. A manubriosternal dislocation may be caused by direct or indirect trauma. Direct injury is generally a collision injury occurring in the context of a road accident. Resulting may be in either a Type I or Type II dislocation. Indirect trauma always leads to a Type II dislocation due to a flexion-compression mechanism in the region of the spine. Rheumatic arthritis and obvious kyphosis are predisposing factors in manubriosternal dislocation due to the indirect compression injury. Nonoperative treatments after reduction, e.g. correction tape or plaster bandage, symptomatic pain treatment, application of ice, and several weeks without sports, are associated with a not inconsiderable rate of subluxations or reluxations, especially due to insufficient patient compliance. These disorders can lead to chronic pain, periarticular calcification with ankylosis, and progressive deformity. It has not been possible to establish an optimal, standardized operative procedure so far because of the small number of cases. We have achieved very good, postoperative long-term outcomes after plate osteosynthesis of manubriosternal dislocations in two patients.