Elbow dislocation with ipsilateral diaphyseal forearm bone fracture: A rare injury report with literature review

Abstract

Dislocation of the elbow along with shaft fractures of both bones of the ipsilateral forearm is a rare injury though elbow dislocation or fracture of the forearm bones may occur separately. Such injuries need a concentric reduction of the dislocation and an anatomical fixation of forearm bones for optimal functional outcomes. We report a case of elbow dislocation with fracture of the lateral condyle of the humerus along with fractures of shafts of the radius and ulna in a 44-year-old female. Closed reduction of the elbow and operative stabilization of all fractures were done with good clinical, radiological and functional outcomes in 2 years follow-up period. A significant degree of force is needed to produce a combined dislocation of a joint and fracture of bones around that joint and these complex injuries may be missed if the clinician is not aware of the possibility of such injuries. The fact that the previously reported cases had a posterolateral dislocation while our case had a posteromedial dislocation and a fracture of the lateral humeral condyle as well makes it unique in its presentation and worth reporting. We have also included an up to date literature review on this topic.

An unusual Monteggia equivalent type 1 lesion: Diaphyseal ulna and radius fractures with a posterior elbow dislocation in a child

“…Through literature, this particular lesion seemed to have a better prognosis than the others types of Monteggia type 1 equivalent injuries both in children and in adults. 8 , 9 In fact, all the authors have reported good outcomes after treatment as well as in our case.…”

“…Indeed, 9 cases of similar lesions were described in adults. 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 In the literature, this unusual lesion has been reported, in a child, only in one occasion reported by Frazier et al., in 1991. 9 It was about a 7-year-old boy with anteriorly angulated diaphyseal ulna fracture and a proximal third radius fracture with a posterior elbow dislocation, as well as our patient.…”

Floating Elbow in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Following review of full-text articles, 32 studies 1,2,4-10,18-40 met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis [19 case series 1,2,4-10,19,24,28,30-33, 35,38,39 and 13 case re- ports. 18,[20][21][22][23][25][26][27]29,34,36,37,40 ] Respective studies and their reasons for exclusion are presented on Supplementary File-Table 1. Finally, 24 articles reported on PROs and were included in the quantitative analysis.…”

Complex Elbow Dislocation with Ipsilateral Proximal Third Radius Fracture: Comparison of Outcome of Two Cases Managed Differently

“…Fractures of forearm bones associated with elbow dislocation commonly occur around the elbow, i.e., in the proximal part and involve the radial head, olecranon, and coronoid process [2]. There are some case reports of elbow dislocation with ipsilateral both bone diaphyseal fracture [3,4] but the combination of elbow dislocation with ipsilateral fracture of proximal third radius is very rare. The literature search shows only one case described with this pattern of injury [5].…”