Open AccessThe Clavicle Continues to Grow During Adolescence and Early Adulthood
Author(s) -
Jessica Hughes,
Peter O. Newton,
Tracey P. Bastrom,
Peter D. Fabricant,
Andrew T. Pennock
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
hss journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1556-3324
pISSN - 1556-3316
DOI - 10.1007/s11420-020-09754-8
Subject(s) - medicine , clavicle , radiography , orthopedic surgery , longitudinal study , orthodontics , surgery , pathology
As more adults undergo surgical fixation of clavicle fractures with improved outcomes, interest is renewed in managing clavicle fractures in adolescents. The medial clavicular physis does not fuse until 23 to 25 years of age, but studies report minimal clavicular growth during adolescence-studies that employed cross-sectional methodologies, which cannot not capture growth in patients over time. The assumption that clavicle length at each stage is uniform, as is the final overall length, may not be accurate if the age groups studied comprise various ethnicities, socioeconomic status, or height.