A Case Report about Early Major Postoperative Ossifications of the Shoulder

Ossifications after osteosynthesis of the proximal humerus are poorly described. We report a case of major and early ossifications after synthesis of a fracture dislocation of the shoulder. A 57-year-old man, right-handed, bipolar schizophrenic, presented after a fall, a fracture of the head and metaphysis of the humerus from the anterior notch of posterior dislocation of the right humerus. An osteosynthesis was performed after reduction on the tenth posttraumatic day. The postoperative period was complicated because of early ossifications and painless stiffness of the shoulder. The importance of local trauma, the long consultation period, the operative difficulties and the heparin therapy are factors that could have favored the occurrence of ossifications. Preventive treatment could have prevented them or limited their extent.