Een vermeende traumatische posterieure schouderluxatie

Background

An obstetric brachial plexus lesion arises during childbirth as a consequence of excessive lateral traction of the neonate’s head during shoulder dystocia. A small number of patients do not experience spontaneous recovery and secondary glenohumeral deformities can arise due to rotator cuff imbalance.

Case description

A 34-year-old man of Syrian descent with a history of a conservatively treated right-sided obstetric brachial plexus lesion went to the accident and emergency department (A&E) with acute pain in the right shoulder. Additional X-ray diagnostics suggested a posterior shoulder luxation, but attempts to relocate the glenohumeral joint in A&E failed. An additional CT scan of the shoulders revealed a severe right-sided dysplasia of the glenohumeral joint, with severe retroversion and posterior luxation of a rotated humeral head. After 3 weeks of relative rest through use of a sling and pain relief with an NSAID the pain had diminished and the patient had resumed his daily activities.

Conclusion

Posterior shoulder luxation can occur as a complication of obstetric brachial plexus lesion. Closed reduction is not of any use in these cases. The expertise of a specialized multidisciplinary team is indispensable for providing a patient with obstetric brachial plexus lesion with the best advice on treatment.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.