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Case Reports
. 2018 Sep-Oct;8(5):15-18.
doi: 10.13107/jocr.2250-0685.1188.

Complete Rupture of the Triceps Tendon and Ulnar Collateral Ligament of the Elbow in a 13-Year-Old Football Player: A Case Report

Lafi S Khalil  1 , Khalid Alkhelaifi  1 , Fabien Meta  1 , Vincent A Lizzio  1 , Ramsey Shehab  1 , Eric C Makhni  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Complete Rupture of the Triceps Tendon and Ulnar Collateral Ligament of the Elbow in a 13-Year-Old Football Player: A Case Report

Lafi S Khalil et al. J Orthop Case Rep. 2018 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Introduction: With the increasing number of children and adolescents participating in sports, pathologies once reserved for high-level athletes are now emerging in this younger population. Distal triceps tendon tears represent an injury infrequently seen even among older, skeletally mature athletes. We report a case of distal triceps tendon tear with concomitant ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury in a skeletally-immature football player.

Case report: This is a rare case of traumatic triceps tendon tear with UCL injury in a 13-year-old male football player during a fall and hyperextension of his elbow. Management included surgical treatment of the triceps tear with suture anchors in double row technique. The concomitant UCL injury was treated conservatively.

Conclusion: This case suggests that this type of injury can occur in young athletes, but good prognosis can be expected with prompt management. Surgical repair of a functionally deficient triceps tendon tear and conservative management of associated UCL injury can result in returntoplay within 6 months.

Keywords: Triceps tendon; tendonrepair; ulnar collateral ligament.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Nil

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Magnetic resonance (MR) arthrogram coronal cut of the elbow showing complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (arrow); (b) MR arthrogram axial cut showing fluid collection in the absence the triceps tendon (arrow); (c) MR arthrogram sagittal cut of the elbow showing triceps tendon detachment from olecranon (circled region).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Patient in the lateral decubitus position and the skin mark showing the curved incision.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Arrow tendon edge (retracted from footprint) held with allis clamp (arrow). Note debridement of triceps footprint and surrounding soft tissue.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Drill guide position for suture anchor, for the proximal row. Note nitinol wire as a sounding device.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Suture pairs tied and tensioned sequentially starting medial to lateral, using tension slide technique.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Double-row fixation triceps tendon, 3 of 6 suture limbs were passed back through the tendon and into “lateral” row single knotless suture anchor; (b) final fixation construct with the triceps tendon fixed to the footprint.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Lateral X-rays at the first post-operative visit showing the trajectory of the anchors (dashed boxes-arrows) avoiding the intra-articular space.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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