Prospective cohort study of 28 patients (29 fractures) treated with the Locking Proximal Humerus Plate (LPHP) for AO Type A–C proximal humerus fractures. The study reports Constant scores and complications at 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months. The central question: can this fixed-angle locking construct provide reliable fixation across all fracture types, including complex ones in osteoporotic bone?
Locking plate technology for proximal humerus fractures was introduced to solve two problems with conventional plates: inadequate purchase in osteoporotic bone and higher AVN risk from extensive soft tissue stripping. This series is one of the first prospective clinical reports validating the LPHP concept, and its complication data directly shaped how surgeons think about technique.
When you fix a proximal humerus fracture with a locking plate, get the reduction right before you lock anything. Varus malalignment drives every major complication in this series: screw cut-out, plate prominence, and subacromial impingement all trace back to a head that was not reduced before the plate was fixed. Insert every locking screw perpendicular to the plate — cross-threading at the plate-screw interface destroys the fixed-angle stability the entire construct depends on.
Tell your Type C patients that a Constant score in the mid-60s at one year is a realistic target, not a failure. And that they will keep improving past the 6-month mark, so do not abandon rehab early.
Prospective cohort study of 28 patients (29 fractures) treated with the Locking Proximal Humerus Plate (LPHP) for AO Type A–C proximal humerus fractures. The study reports Constant scores and complications at 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months. The central question: can this fixed-angle locking construct provide reliable fixation across all fracture types, including complex ones in osteoporotic bone?
Locking plate technology for proximal humerus fractures was introduced to solve two problems with conventional plates: inadequate purchase in osteoporotic bone and higher AVN risk from extensive soft tissue stripping. This series is one of the first prospective clinical reports validating the LPHP concept, and its complication data directly shaped how surgeons think about technique.
When you fix a proximal humerus fracture with a locking plate, get the reduction right before you lock anything. Varus malalignment drives every major complication in this series: screw cut-out, plate prominence, and subacromial impingement all trace back to a head that was not reduced before the plate was fixed. Insert every locking screw perpendicular to the plate — cross-threading at the plate-screw interface destroys the fixed-angle stability the entire construct depends on.
Tell your Type C patients that a Constant score in the mid-60s at one year is a realistic target, not a failure. And that they will keep improving past the 6-month mark, so do not abandon rehab early.