Floating Shoulder Review

Floating shoulders are a double disruption injury of the Superior Shoulder Suspensory Complex (SSSC) [1]. Traditionally, in a floating shoulder the neck of the scapula and the distal clavicle are fractured but the definition has evolved to include concurrent tears of the coracoacromial and acromioclavicular ligaments [2, 3]. This injury is very rare, with incidence having been defined as being roughly 0.1% [4, 5]. The majority of these injuries are often caused by a high energy trauma, usually motor vehicle crashes [6]. However, they may also be caused by other mechanisms, including fall from height, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, and gunshot wounds [7].