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Arthroscopic-Assisted Surgery of the Distal Humeral Fractures

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Intraarticular Fractures

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Abstract

Fractures of the distal part of the humerus are rare in adults, but there has been an increase in their number and incidence among the elderly. Mostly these fractures involve disruption of both the medial and lateral columns, disrupting the humeral triangle and resulting in disassociation of the articular surface from the humeral shaft. The clinical appearance of distal humerus fractures can be described as a painfully swollen elbow with deformity and functional disability.

The fracture specifics, including bone quality, fracture pattern, level of comminution, articular involvement, displacement, and associated injuries, must be understood completely before treatment is performed. Standard anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the elbow are usually sufficient for diagnosis, classification, and surgical templating.

Due to the complexity of the local anatomy and injury patterns, fractures of the distal humerus are challenging to treat. The stiffness of elbow and devitalization of the bony fragments are other problems with extended surgical exposures. The indications for elbow arthroscopy have expanded with increased experience levels and advances in arthroscopic instrumentation due to high incidence of complications following elbow surgery in experienced hands. Arthroscopic-assisted surgery may be helpful for selected patients in several types of distal humeral fractures including capitellar fractures, lateral condyle fractures, coronal shear fractures of the coronoid, and pediatric distal humeral fractures (epicondylar, supracondylar, or unicondylar fractures) .

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Acibadem Kadikoy Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Selami Cakmak

  2. University Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

    Roza Dzoleva Tolevska & Daniela Georgieva

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Near East University Hospital, TRNC-Mersin 10, Turkey

    Enes Sari

  4. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Memorial Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mahir Mahirogullari

Authors
  1. Selami Cakmak
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  2. Roza Dzoleva Tolevska
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  3. Enes Sari
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  4. Daniela Georgieva
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  5. Mahir Mahirogullari
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, T.C. Ufuk University, Ankara, Turkey

    Mahmut Nedim Doral

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden

    Jón Karlsson

  3. Kosair Charities College of Health and Natural Sciences, Spalding University, Louisville, KY, USA

    John Nyland

  4. Helfentalweg 1A, Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch Abt. Unfallchirurgie, Innsbruck, Austria

    Karl Peter Benedetto

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Cakmak, S., Tolevska, R.D., Sari, E., Georgieva, D., Mahirogullari, M. (2019). Arthroscopic-Assisted Surgery of the Distal Humeral Fractures. In: Doral, M., Karlsson, J., Nyland, J., Benedetto, K. (eds) Intraarticular Fractures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97602-0_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97602-0_14

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-97600-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97602-0

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