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Treatment of Simple Elbow Dislocations

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The Unstable Elbow

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Abstract

The elbow is the second most commonly dislocated joint. Elbow dislocations are often caused by falling onto an outstretched hand, resulting in application of a valgus, supinatory, and axially directed load to the elbow. Simple elbow dislocations are soft tissue injuries without an associated fracture. Multiple reduction techniques are described with the patient in both supine and prone positions. The definitive management of a simple elbow dislocation is primarily nonoperative with a splint for 7–10 days and active mobilization as soon as the splint is removed. This protocol minimizes complications such as a joint contracture and hastens a return to pre-injury activities. Surgical indications include a persistently unstable elbow, joint incongruency, and/or an open injury. Operative management may involve exploration, lateral ligament repair or reconstruction, and assessment of the need for medial ligament repair or reconstruction. Ulnar nerve transposition is not routinely performed. Joint contracture is the most common complication of an elbow dislocation, and other complications such as heterotopic ossification and neurovascular injury occur less frequently. Chronic instability after a simple elbow dislocation is very uncommon. The mechanism of injury, initial evaluation, imaging, and a treatment algorithm for these injuries will be reviewed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Lyn Camire, MA, ELS, of our department for editorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, El-Hadara University Hospital, El-Mostashfa El-Italy Street El-Hadara, Alexandria, 21599, Egypt

    Yehia H. Bedeir MD, MBBCh, MCh Orth

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Yehia H. Bedeir MD, MBBCh, MCh Orth & Shannon R. Carpenter MD

  3. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, 3333 North Calvert Street, Suite 400, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Anand M. Murthi MD (c/o Lyn Camire, Editor)

Authors
  1. Yehia H. Bedeir MD, MBBCh, MCh Orth
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  2. Shannon R. Carpenter MD
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  3. Anand M. Murthi MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anand M. Murthi MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Robert Z. Tashjian

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Bedeir, Y.H., Carpenter, S.R., Murthi, A.M. (2017). Treatment of Simple Elbow Dislocations. In: Tashjian, R. (eds) The Unstable Elbow. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46019-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46019-2_4

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46017-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46019-2

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