An 8-year-old child of Bajau Laut descent (a stateless tribe in Eastern Borneo and the Sulu archipelago) presented following a fall, with penetrating injury through the axilla caused by a stilt pole, exiting at the supero-anterior aspect of the left shoulder. Due to the lack of comprehension of modern medical treatment and poor language skills, the parents refused to consent for detailed radioimaging studies, nor surgical removal and exploration in the operating theatre. The removal of retained stilt pole was done in casualty area in Hospital Tawau, followed by local exploration under sedation and local analgesia. Despite the horrific injury, there was no limb-threatening neurovascular injury sustained. Management of such injury in the nomadic Bajau Laut population provides valuable insight and about the challenges and decisions of management.
Simultaneous ipsilateral fractures involving all the bones around the shoulder girdle, namely, the scapula, clavicle and humerus, are rare. We describe an interesting case of a 31-year-old patient who presented after a motor vehicle accident with excruciating pain over his left shoulder and a flail left upper limb. Radiographs and computed tomography (CT) scan revealed the presence of comminuted left scapula, clavicle and proximal humerus fractures. He was also diagnosed with a complete brachial plexus injury of the left shoulder. The patient underwent a tedious surgery involving screw fixation and plating of the scapula, clavicle and proximal humerus. Despite achieving stable fixations of the shoulder and radiographic union of all the fractures, he did not recover from the complete brachial plexus injury 14 months after the trauma. The presence of ipsilateral clavicle, scapula and humerus fracture suggests involvement in high-energy trauma, and therefore, associated injuries especially neurovascular compromise should not be missed. Despite its rarity, management of this complex injury should always be individualised to ensure optimal functional outcomes are achieved.