What Is the Effectiveness of Acromioclavicular (AC) Joint Surgery?
Success rates for surgery on your acromioclavicular joint from shoulder injuries are generally high, with many people able to regain full function and return to sports or normal activity.
Your acromioclavicular (AC) joint is located between a part of your shoulder blade called the acromion process and your collarbone.
Injuries to the AC joint usually occur after direct impact to your shoulder or from falling and catching yourself on your outstretched hand. AC joint injuries make up as many as 40% of shoulder injuries and nearly 10% of injuries in contact sports.
AC joint surgery is used to treat severe AC joint injuries. Currently, there’s no consensus on a gold standard surgery, and the best surgery for you depends on the type and severity of your injury.
Read on to learn more about the success rate for AC joint surgery.
The first AC joint repair occurred in 1917 , and since then, more than 150 techniques have been described in the medical literature.
Americans see their primary care doctors less often than they did a decade ago. Adults under 65 made nearly 25% fewer visits to primary care providers in 2016 than they did in 2018, according to National Public Radio. In the same time period, the number of adults who went at least a year without visiting a primary care provider increased from 38% to 46%.
AC joint injuries are categorized from grade 1 to grade 5, depending on their severity, with higher grade injuries being more severe.
Substantial research supports nonsurgical treatment for grade 1 to 2 injuries since conservative treatment has lower complication rates and higher return to activity rates. There’s also much research to support the use of surgery for treating grade 4 to 6 injuries.
Research is mixed on whether grade 3 injuries should be surgically repaired. Grade 3 AC joint injuries feature complete disruptions of the attached ligaments with complete separation of the shoulder blade and the collarbone.
Success rates vary widely between studies based on factors like:
- the specific situations of the people in the study
- severity of injury
- type of surgery
Return to sport
In one 2022 study , researchers examine the recovery of nine Australian Football League players with grade 3 to 5 injuries. All the players returned to sport within 13 weeks, and 62% returned to their preinjury level of competition by an average follow-up of about 2 years after surgery.
In a 2019 review, researchers found that 84% of 401 people with grade 3 to 6 injuries returned to their same level of sport, and 9% returned to their sport at a lower level.
A 2018 study found that 82.4% of 17 people with grade 3 to 5 injuries returned to their pre-injury level of sports participation at a follow-up an average of about 2.5 years after surgery.
Success rates in middle-aged adults
In another study , researchers examined the recovery of 43 people between the ages of 42 and 54 with grade 3 to 4 injuries. They found 81% of people received significant benefit and 49% reached a “patient acceptable symptomatic state,” meaning that if their symptoms improved more, they would consider themselves symptom-free.
Satisfaction
In a 2020 study , 12 of 15 people with grade 3 injuries rated their surgical outcome as very good, 3 rated it as good, and none were dissatisfied.
All 24 people in a 2020 study who received joint construction using a surgical method called ligament augmentation reconstruction system said they would have the operation again if needed.
Revision surgery success rates
In yet another study , researchers found that significant improvements were maintained for 10 years in nine people from ages 34 to 55 whose first surgery failed and required revision.
