How Much Shoulder Width Increase Comes From Clavicle Lengthening?

Q: Dr. Eppley, If the clavicle is lengthened by an inch on each side, does that translate into two additional inches of broadness in the shoulders, or is the actual gain in width reduced somewhat by the slightly inward pointing, S-shape of most people’s clavicles?

Related question. Can this procedure be used to create straighter clavicles?

A: Since the clavicle is not a completely horizontal bone, there is roughly a 110% correlation between bone lengthening and shoulder width increase. Conversely the opposite is true in clavicle reduction…there is a 90% correlation between the bone removed and the reduction in shoulder width.

Because clavicle lengthening is done an s-shaped curved bone, changing its length does not alter its shape. In short you can not make a clavicle a straight bone.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana