Complex Elbow Fracture-Dislocation with Distal Humerus Involvement: Clinical Case Report

Abstract

It is known that the elbow is dislocated frequently, representing the first cause of dislocation in children and the second cause in adults. Regarding distal humerus fractures, they represent a third of all humerus fractures in the adult population. They generally occur in a bimodal distribution, affecting young men or elderly women. In the present article, we report a rare clinical case of a complicated left elbow dislocation due to a distal humerus fracture in a 64-year-old woman. The lesion includes a posterolateral dislocation of the left elbow complicated by a sagittal, multifragmentary, partial articular fracture (compromise of the condyle and external humeral trochlea) of the distal humerus which required three surgical interventions and rehabilitation therapy for six months and resulted in functional recovery of the stability of the elbow joint. The case herein reported is particular due to the individuality of the patient, with her comorbidities, the mechanism of production of the fracture-dislocation, the surgical approach, and the success of the established treatment. This therapeutic success must be confirmed in series of cases.

Level of Evidence Case report.

Keywords

dislocation - fracture - elbow - clinical case - osteosynthesis

Publication History

Received: 11 December 2020

Accepted: 18 February 2022

Article published online:
03 October 2022

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