Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Jun;9(2):185-9.
doi: 10.1007/s12178-016-9337-8.

Treatment of complex elbow fracture-dislocations

Kevin Chan  1 , Graham J W King  2 , Kenneth J Faber  2
Affiliations
Review

Treatment of complex elbow fracture-dislocations

Kevin Chan et al. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Successful management of complex elbow fracture-dislocations requires, in part, recognition of the overall injury pattern, which can aid in the identification of concomitant bony and soft tissue injuries. Trans-olecranon fracture-dislocations are best treated surgically with stable anatomic restoration of the trochlear notch. Terrible triad elbow injuries are believed to be caused by a valgus posterolateral force. Although select terrible triad injuries can be managed non-operatively, the majority of injuries are treated with stable surgical repair to allow early elbow motion. Unlike terrible triads, varus posteromedial forces are theorized to cause anteromedial coronoid fractures. These are usually associated with LCL disruptions, but do not have concomitant MCL or radial head injuries. A subset of anteromedial coronoid fractures can also be managed non-operatively. Internal fixation is recommended for injuries associated with large fracture fragments or elbow instability preventing early motion.

Keywords: Anteromedial coronoid; Elbow instability; Fracture-dislocation; Terrible triad; Trans-olecranon.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
O’Driscoll classification of coronoid fractures, including type 1 (tip), type 2 (anteromedial), and type 3 (basal) (reprinted with permission from reference [6]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wyrick JD, Dailey SK, Gunzenhaeuser JM, Casstevens EC. Management of complex elbow dislocations: a mechanistic approach. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2015;23(5):297–306. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-14-00023. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stoneback JW, Owens BD, Sykes J, Athwal GS, Pointer L, Wolf JM. Incidence of elbow dislocations in the United States population. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012;94(3):240–5. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.J.01663. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lee GA, Katz SD, Lazarus MD. Elbow valgus stress radiography in an uninjured population. Am J Sports Med. 1998;26(3):425–7. - PubMed
    1. Rhyou IH, Kim KC, Lee JH, Kim SY, et al. Strategic approach to O’Driscoll type 2 anteromedial coronoid facet fracture. J Shoulder Elb Surg. 2014;23(7):924–32. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.02.016. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ring D, Jupiter JB, Sanders RW, Mast J, Simpson NS. Transolecranon fracture-dislocation of the elbow. J Orthop Trauma. 1997;11(8):545–50. doi: 10.1097/00005131-199711000-00001. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources