Occult posterolateral rotatory dislocation of the elbow with olecranon fracture in a child: a case report.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Acute posterolateral rotator elbow dislocation in a child is rare and can be easily misdiagnosed due to immaturity of the epiphysis. This is the first case of occult posterolateral rotator elbow dislocation in combination with an olecranon fracture. We report our experience with this case, which was not diagnosed correctly by plain radiographs.

Case presentation

An 11-year-old Asian boy suffered severe pain and swelling of his right elbow after his outstretched arm hit a car dashboard in a motor vehicle accident. Plain radiographs showed only a minimally displaced olecranon fracture and a tiny lateral epicondylar avulsion fracture. However, stress radiographs under general anesthesia revealed severe posterolateral rotatory instability. During surgery, we found t

SUBMITTER: Fujimori T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3470946 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature