Abstract

CAPOMASSI, Miguel Ángel; GARDENAL, Ricardo Martín  and  SLULLITEL, Miguel. Floating elbow enjury en the adult: functional assessment and statistical analysis of 18 patients. Rev. Asoc. Argent. Ortop. Traumatol. [online]. 2012, vol.77, n.2, pp.124-135. ISSN 1852-7434.

Background: Ipsilateral fractures of the humerus and the forearm represent a rare injury resulting from high-energy trauma and known as Floating Elbow. The objec-tive of this report is to present our experience, analyze outcomes and determine the impact that some injury- or treatment-related factors had on outcomes. Methods: Eighteen adult patients (15 males) with a mean age of 41.2 years, who had floating elbow and who had been treated between 1994 and 2010 and followed for over 1 year, were retrospectively studied. Cases were divided according to the authors' classification, and variables with a potential impact on final outcomes were iden-tified. There were 7 associated injuries in the involved extremity (39%). All fractures had been treated by reduc-tion and osteosynthesis. Patients were evaluated using the Shoulder Score Index (ASES), the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the SF-36 form. The mean follow-up was 6.7 years. Results: The average ASES score was 87.5; pain score on VAS was 1. The SF-36 showed an average physical factor of 46.8 and mental factor of 60.1. Five complica-tions occurred (27.8%): 3 humeral pseudoarthrosis and 2 infections. No statistically significant relation was found between results and bone exposure, kind of floating elbow, associated injuries or osteosynthesis method applied. Conclusions: Stable osteosynthesis of fractures and con-comitant treatment of associated injuries make the use of early controlled mobilization protocols possible, improving functional outcomes.

Keywords : Floating elbow; Adult; Treatment; Results; Level of evidence: IV; Case Series.

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