Is Shoulder Widening Surgery Dangerous?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is shoulder widening surgery more dangerous than the shoulder narrowing surgery you offer? Is it possible to widen the shoulders with surgery? Thank you.

A: Shoulder widening is just as safe as shoulder narrowing as it is the same osteotomy cut in the identical clavicle location. The difference is that the risk of non-union is higher in shoulder widening because widening requires a bone graft while narrowing puts two good cut bone ends right together where primary bone healing can occur quickly. It takes a longer time for the bone to travel across the graft to heal in widening surgery. But it is not dangerous, it just has a slightly different risk profile.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana