Elbow fracture-dislocation

Last revised by Henry Knipe on 5 Apr 2021

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Carter S, Knipe H, Deng F, et al. Elbow fracture-dislocation. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 25 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-87927

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-87927

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/87927

rID:

87927

Article created:

21 Mar 2021, Sean Carter ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Sean Carter had no recorded disclosures.

View Sean Carter's current disclosures

Last revised:

5 Apr 2021, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Revisions:

4 times, by 4 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Tags:

refs, cases

Synonyms:

Elbow fracture-dislocations

Complex elbow fracture-dislocations have the potential to be associated with significant long-term morbidity ¹.

Pathology

Types

t errible triad
trans-olecranon fracture-dislocation
anteromedial coronoid fractures with associated varus posteromedial instability

Mechanism

The mechanism is dependent on the type of fracture-dislocation ^1.It is postulated the terrible triad usually occurs as a result of a fall on an outstretched arm. This causes a valgus posterolateral force with resulting injury to the capsuloligamentous structures sequentially from lateral to medial ¹.

Trans-olecranon fracture-dislocations generally occur due to axial loading with associated ulnohumeral joint disruption and displacement of the radial head anterior to the capitellum¹.

Anteromedial coronoid fractures generally occur as a result of a varus posteromedial rotational injury ¹.