Painful Os Acromiale Presenting as Septic Shoulder

The unfused acromial apophysis of an os acromiale typi­cally is an undetected orthopedic anomaly with minimal symptoms. In some instances, however, pain and dis­ability can result from motion between the unfused bone fragments. Trauma to the acromion can similarly dis­place the unfused os acromiale or can result in chronic symptoms of pain and swelling. In this article, we report the case of a young man who had a fractured os acro­miale secondary to trauma and presented with the signs and symptoms of a septic glenohumeral joint.