Elbow dislocation Discussion

Elbow dislocation is a serious injury whether or not there are other associated injuries. Fracture, brachial artery or forearm nerve injuries may accompany the dislocation and worsen the long term prognosis. These injuries have been classified by Simpson as follows: Both Radius and Ulna

Posterior

Lateral

Medial

Lateral

Divergent

Anteroposterior

Mediolateral

Ulna alone

Posterior

Radius

Posterior

Lateral

Treatment options are individualized, and include closed or or open reduction and possible ligament reconstruction. Regardless of treatment, most patients lose some elbow extension, although some improvement may occur as late as one year after injury. Periarticular calcification occurs in over 2 out of 3 patients and degenerative arthritis develops in a similar proportion. Some residual pain can be expected in nearly half of patients. Using pain and loss of motion as indices, fair or poor results can be expected in one out of five patients with a simple dislocation and two out of five with an associated fracture. Results are less likely to be good if immobilization is required for more than three weeks.

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