Treatment of painful scapulothoracic crepitus by resection of the superomedial angle of the scapula. A report of three cases.

Three healthy young male manual laborers developed painful unilateral scapulothoracic crepitus arising from the superomedial angle of the scapula. There was a history of trauma in two of the patients. Asymmetric prominence of the superomedial angle of the scapula was demonstrated by computed tomography (CT) scanning in two patients. All three patients were successfully treated by resection of the superomedial angle of the scapula. The resected tissue was histologically normal in each case. Painful scapulothoracic crepitus arising from the superomedial angle of the scapula is associated with local trauma, is best investigated with a CT scan, and if unresponsive to prolonged conservative measures, can be successfully treated by resection of the superomedial angle of the scapula.