Summary

to evaluate the early outcome of arthroscopically assisted treatment of coronoid process fractures.

Abstract

Method: We treated 5 cases suffering coronoid process fractures of ulna with arthroscopically assisted method from September 2010 to Jannuary 2012. Three patients were male and two were female. The average age is 35.8 years (16 to 66y). The etiology included four falls and one traffic accident. The interval from injury to surgery is 7.5 days (6 to 18d).According to the Regan Morrey classification: 4 cases were Type II and 1 case was type I, American shoulder and elbow surgeons score was used to assess the function. Result: The average operation time was 65 minutes (45 to 125min) and average followup time was 6.6 months (6 to 18m). The step of articular surface was less than 1mm in the view of arthroscopy and postoperative CT scan. Three months postoperatively CT scan showed the fractures had healed. The mean ASES score was 89.2 points (range,80 to 100 points).There were 4 excellent cases,1 good case. All patients achieved a functional range of motion with an average flexion extension arc of 2 degree to 140 degree and full pronation and supination. No patient had elbow instability. Two patient had removal of a prominent hardware over the subcutaneous border of the ulna. Conclusion: It is an effective method to treat the coronoid process fracture with arthroscopically assisted management, which can provide excellent observation, enabling anatomic repair and preservation of the soft tissue attachments of small coronoid fragments without extensive soft tissue dissection.But the technique is demanding and the surgeons need long learning curve.