Fifty percent of joint dislocations reported to the emergency department are of shoulder joint. Various techniques are used to reduce the shoulder and Spaso technique is the least known to the orthopaedic residents which is a simple one-man vertical traction method of shoulder reduction. We evaluated the effectiveness of vertical traction method for anterior shoulder dislocation by orthopaedic residents. Sixty consecutive patients of anterior glenohumeral dislocation attending the emergency department of our hospital were taken up for the study. The reduction was done using Spaso technique. Right shoulder was dislocated in 40 patients and 31 patients had recurrent shoulder dislocation. In 55 patients, shoulder was reduced without the use of any anaesthesia. In patients where no anaesthesia was used, the time of traction ranged from 45 seconds to 5 minutes, while under anaesthesia the time of traction ranged from 1 to 4 minutes. Twenty-one patients had associated greater tuberosity fracture which did not affect the method of reduction and all of them were reducible. No complication was reported, and all the patients were satisfied with the method. In conclusion vertical traction method is a good technique for reducing anterior shoulder dislocation with an easy learning curve among the residents and no complication has been reported so far.
Functional deficits as a result of brachial plexus injury in anterior shoulder dislocation
