Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Jul 18, 2017; 8(7): 536-544
Published online Jul 18, 2017. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v8.i7.536
Possibilities for arthroscopic treatment of the ageing sternoclavicular joint
Martin Rathcke, Jørgen Tranum-Jensen, Michael Rindom Krogsgaard
Martin Rathcke, Michael Rindom Krogsgaard, Section for Sportstraumatology M51, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark
Jørgen Tranum-Jensen, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
Author contributions: All three authors have participated equally in planning the study, examining the specimens, analyzing the results and writing the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the head of the body donation program at Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (ICMM) at the University of Copenhagen.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None. Each author certifies that he has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Michael Rindom Krogsgaard, MD, PhD, Professor, Specialist in Orthopaedic Surgery, Section for Sportstraumatology M51, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. mrk@dadlnet.dk
Telephone: +45-3531-3817 Fax: +45-3531-1880
Received: November 19, 2016
Peer-review started: November 23, 2016
First decision: February 15, 2017
Revised: April 17, 2017
Accepted: May 3, 2017
Article in press: May 5, 2017
Published online: July 18, 2017
Core Tip

Core tip: Arthroscopic treatment is an option in patients with symptoms from the ageing sternoclavicular joint (SCJ). However, knowledge of age-related changes is essential for planning of such arthroscopic procedures. In 78 human cadaveric SCJs with a mean age of 79 years (range: 59-96 years) we found that degenerative changes of the discs were common, in particular inferior detachment, and only 28% were fully attached. Severe cartilage degeneration was more common on the clavicular than the sternal side. When there was inferior detachment of the disc, we observed increased supero-medial gliding of the clavicle. We conclude that a torn disc or degenerated articular cartilage might be treated by arthroscopic resection, debridement and clavicle end resection. Reattachment of a degenerated disc is not possible.