Objective To review present situation and progress in cl inically treating floating shoulder injury. Methods Recent l iterature concerned treatment of floating shoulder injury was reviewed and analyzed in terms of anatomy, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Results Conservative treatment and operative treatment can get good outcome. But the value of the results was l imited, because different evaluation criteria were used in the l iterature. Conclusion There is no uniform standards about the treatment of the floating shoulder injury. Both conservative treatment and operative treatment have advantages and disadvantages, which method will be used to treat the floating shoulder injury based on local damage and the patient’s general condition.
