We include the fractures of the clavicle as an appendix because it is a long bone. Although in the Classification⁹ these fractures appear separated as a special bone with number 91.2, the types of fractures have the same characteristics as those of all of the long bones. The middle third is the most fre-quently involved, followed by the lateral third and more rarely the medial third.

The classic conservative treatment rarely obtains anato-mic reductions. It involves inmobilization, always relative, with bandages and unconfortable postures, not well accepted by a society that demands fast functional recoveries. Although it is true that these fractures usually heal with voluminous calluses, their subcutaneous location may make them unsightly. Delayed unions (in adults) are not unusual.

The surgery carries with it the inevitable tribute of a scar in a visible area, especially in women. The subcutaneous pla-cement of an internal fixation implant is always dangerous and, for that reason, a meticulous soft tissue surgical technique will also be required.

The internal fixation requires an implant malleable in all space directions in order for it to adapt to the italic S shape of the clavicle and to the torsional variants of its anterior and superior aspects. The narrow reconstruction plate (3.5 mm.) is the ideal implant in order to be able to apply the general prin-ciples of interfragmentary compression and neutralization. The fractures of the lateral third are better treated with the small fragment T plate, with the quite frequent difficulty of a frail hold of the screws in the epiphysis, which will need specific techniques for each case and, sometimes, supplemental inmo-bilizations. Bilateral fractures are a frequent indication for internal fixation.