1. Upper Limb
Fractures Part 2
Dr. Apoorv Jain
D’Ortho, DNB Ortho
drapoorvjain23@gmail.com
+91-9845669975
2. • The elbow joint is a modified hinge joint formed by
3 separate articulations,
– Ulnotrochlear(hinge)
– Radocapitellar(rotation)
– Proximal radioulnar(rotation)
5. Ulnar ligament is also known as the
medial collateral ligament. It
prevent abduction of elbow joint. It
cosists of 3 bands: Anterior,
posterior, Transverse.
Radial ligament is also called as
the lateral collateral ligament.it
prevent adduction of elbow
6. • The soft tissue restriants can be divided into
Static stabilizers
Dynamic stabilizers
• Static stabilizers include:
oJoint capsule
oLCL & MCL
• Dynamic stabilizers include Biceps,
Brachialis & Triceps
8. Two set of movements occur at the
elbow:
A)Flexion and extension at the
Ulnotrochlear joint
B)Pronation and supination at
Superior radio-ulnar joint
9. Normal range of motion:
0 to 150°flexion
85° supination & 80° pronation
Functional range of motion:
a 100° arc (30 to 130 degrees flexion)
50° supination & 50° pronation
11. Dislocation of the elbow
Dislocation of UlnoHumeral joint
Mechanism of injury:
Most commonly injury is caused by fall onto an
outstretched hand or elbow
• Posterior dislocation: a combination of elbow
hyperextention, valgus stress, arm abduction
and forearm supination
• Anterior dislocation: a direct force strikes the
posterior forearm with elbow in flexed position
12. • Most elow dislocations & fracture
dislocations result in injury to all
capsulo-ligamentous stabilizers of
elbow joint
• The capsuloligamentous injury
progresses from lateral to medial (HORI
CIRCLE)
13.
14. Signs and Symptoms
Pain, Swelling and Ecchymosis
Instability, Crepitus and Deformity
(With the elbow flexed at 90 degrees,the medial &
lateral epicondyles & olecranon process should from
isosceles triangle)
A complete peripheral neurological examination
for both motor & sensory functions should be
done
Radial & ulnar pulses should be compared on
both sides
15. Classificaton
According to direction of
displacement of ulna
relative to the humerus
• Posterior
• Posterolateral
• Posteromedial
• Lateral
• Medial
• Anterior
16. Treatment principles
Restoration of the inherent bony
stability is goal
Ulnotrochlear and Radiocapitellar contact.
The LCL is more important than MCL in
setting of most cases of traumatic elbow
instability
MCL will usually heal properly without any
repair
17. • Parvin’s method Of Closed reduction
Patient lies prone
Physician applies gentle downward traction of
the wrist for few min, as the olecranon begin to
slip distally, the physician lift up gently on the
arm
18. • Meyn and Quigley’s
method of reduction:
Only the forearm hangs
from the side of the
stretcher as gentle
downward traction is
applied on the wrist, the
physican gudies the
reduction of olecranon
with the opposite hand
19. Surgical repair (if elbow clinically is
unstable post reduction)
Direct repair of the ligaments,capsule and
muscles
Static or Hinged external fixator application
Cross pining of the joint
Temporary bridge plating of the elbow
20. • If the elbow remains unstable
inspite of repair to lateral structures
the medial side of the elbow is
approached with care taken to
protect the ulnar nerve
• If the elbow is still unstable then an
External fixator should be placed
21. Complications
Vascular injury of brachial artery may occur
Nerve injury the medial ulnar nerve may be affected
Myositis ossificans which is more common if passive
exercise is inflicted on the patient.
Late complications
Stiffness
Heterotopic ossification
Unreduced dislocation
Recurrent dislocation
Osteoarthritis after severe fracture dislocation.
23. EPIDEMIOLOGY
4% of all fractures and 30% of all elbow
fractures
1/3 patients associated injury to shoulder,
humerus, forearm,wrist or hand.
Rare in children due to cartilagenous nature of
radial head
Radial neck fracture more common in children
24. Anatomy of proximal radius
RadioCapitellar joint transmit 50-60% load
across elbow
25. Radius Head Surgical Anatomy
Important for:
Valgus Stability
Posterolateral Rotatory
Stability
Longitudinal Forearm
Stability
(Along With Interossi
Membrane & Druj)
27. Mechanism Of Injury
(1) Fall On Outstreched Hand (most Common)
Distal Radius
Interossi Membrane(forearm)
Radial Head Impaction Against Capitellum
(2) Valgus Injury To Elbow/Direct Injury
Mcl Rupture/Olecranon Fracture Unstable Elbow
28. Signs and Symptoms
Swelling
Ecchmosis
Anconeus Triangle Fullness
Range Of Motion Restriction
Stability
Active Finger Extension
Forearm/Interossi Membrane Tenderness
Wrist Tenderness
ESSEX LOPRESTI Lesion
29. Essex Lopresti Lesion
This is defined as
longitudinal disruption of forearm
interosseous ligament,
usually combined with radial head
fracture and/or dislocation
plus distal radioulnar joint injury
30. Muscle Attachment Around Proximal
Radius:
SUPINATOR ATTACHMENT AT PROXIMAL RADIUS.
BICEPS TENDON ATTACH TO RADIAL TUBEROSITY.
31. Posterior Interossei Nerve At Risk:
Posterior Interosseous Nerve Traverses From Anterior To
Posterior Through Supinator Muscle.
Always Check Pre Operative Active Finger Extension
34. Classification Of Radial Head Fractures
Mason classification
Type I
Minimally displaced, no
mechanical block to rotation,
intraarticular displacement <2mm
Type II
Displaced fx >2mm or angulated,
possible mechanical block to
forearm rotation
Type III Comminuted and displaced fx,
mechanical block to motion
Type IV Radial head fracture with elbow
dislocation
MORREY MODIFIED MASON CLASSIFICATION BY QUANTIFYING DISPLACEMENT
AREA >30% AND DISPLACEMENT OF >2 MM
35. Treatment Goal
Correction Of Any Block To Forearm Rotation
Early Mobilisation Of Elbow And Forearm
Stability Of Elbow And Forearm
Prevention Of Secondary Osteoarthrosis Of
Elbow
36. Non Operative Treatment
Indication:
Isolated Radial Head Fracture With Mason Type 1
(Undisplaced <2mm)
Plaster Slab For 3 Weeks
Early Active Mobilization Of Elbow
Persistant Pain.Inflammation,contracture
Suspect Capitellar Fracture
37. Operative Management
(Open Reduction & Internal Fixation)
INDICATION FOR ORIF:
Mason type II with mechanical block(displaced)
Large fragment >2 mm
Mason type III where ORIF feasible(>3 FRAGMENT POOR
OUTCOME)
Mechanical block to motion (lignocaine inj in elbow joint)
Presence of other complex ipsilateral elbow injuries(without
metaphyseal bone loss)
FRAGMENT EXCISION LEADS TO INSTABILITY
TRY TO PRESERVE SMALLEST FRAGMENT
39. Which implant to use?
Mini fragment screw(2.4 or 2.7
mm)(counter sink must)
Headless compression compression
screw/Herbert screw
Low profile plate/mini t plate(in safe
zone/postero lateral)
K WIRE
40. COMPLICATION OF ORIF
PIN INJURY
HARDWARE FAILURE
HARDWARE IMPINGEMENT
STIFFNESS OF ELBOW
RESTRICTION OF SUPINATIONPRONATION
41. Radial Head Replacement
To prevent proximal migration of the radius
Silicon implant poor outcome : SILICON SYNOVITIS
Titanium/vitallium metallic implant of choice
42. RADIAL HEAD EXCISION
INDICATION:
Low demand, sedentary patients
In a delayed setting for continued pain of an isolated radial
head fracture
CONTRAINDICATION:
In children
Presence of destabilizing injuries (Essex-lopresti
lesion,fracture dislocation elbow(mason type 4),monteggia)
Terrible triad of elbow(coronoid fracture,MCL deficiency)
43. Common injury
Potential for functional
impairment and frequent
complications
44. First surgeon to recognize these injuries was
Pouteau 1783. His work was not widely
publicized.
Later Abraham Colles 1814 gave the classic
description of “Colles fracture”
Advent of X rays at the end of nineteenth
century contributed much to the understanding
of different patterns of injury.
45. One sixth of all fractures treated in the
Emergency Room (16%)
Bimodal distribution
less than 30 years (70% men)
over 50 years (85% women)
Males age 35 or older - 90 per 100,000 population
46. Occurs through the distal metaphysis of the
radius
May involve articular surface.
Mechanism of injury
forced extension of the carpus,
impact loading of the distal radius.
47. History
Wrist is typically swolen with ecchymosis and
tender
Visible deformity of the wrist, with the hand
most commonly displaced in the dorsal
direction less comonly in volar direction
Movement of the hand and wrist are painful.
Adequate and accurate assessment of the
neurovascular status of the hand is performed,
before any treatment is carried out.
48. General physical exam of the patient, including
an evaluation of the injured joint, and a joint
above and below
Radiographs of the injured wrist-pa and lat
view , oblique view
CT scan of the distal radius to know extent of
intrarticular involvement
50. Scaphoid and lunate
fossa
Ridge normally exists
between these two
Sigmoid notch: second
important articular
surface
Triangular
fibrocartilage
complex(TFCC): distal
edge of radius to base
of ulnar styloid
60. Type I Extraarticular, undisplaced
Type 2 Extraarticular, displaced
Type 3 Intraarticular, undisplaced
Type 4 Intraarticular, displaced
61. Type A Extraarticular
Type B Partial articular
B1–radial styloid fracture
B2–dorsal rim fracture
B3–volar rim fracture
B4–die-punch fracture
Type C Complete articular
63. Radial Column
Lateral side of
radius
Intermediate
Column
Ulnar side of
radius
Ulnar Column
distal ulna
Radial column
Intermediate column
Ulnar column
64. I. Bending-metaphysis
bending with loss of
palmar tilt and radial
shortening ,DRUJ
injury(Colles, Smith)
II. Shearing-fractures
of joint surface
(Barton, radial styloid)
65. III. Compression-
intraarticular fracture
with impaction of
subchondral and
metaphyseal bone (die-
punch)
IV. Avulsion-fractures of
ligament attachments
(ulna, radial styloid)
V. Combined/complex -
high velocity injuries
66. Assess involvement of dorsal or volar rim
Is comminution mainly volar or dorsal?
is one of four cortices intact?
Look for “die-punch” lesions of the
scaphoid or lunate fossa.
Assess amount of shortening
Look for DRUJ involvement
67. COLLES #
-extra articular or intra articular distal radius -
clinicaly described as dinner fork deformity
-mechanism---fall on to an hyper extended ,radialy
deviated wrist with the forearm in pronation
68. # distal radius with volar angulation or
volar displacement of the hand and
distal radius
mechanism—fall on to a flexed wrist
with the forearm fixed in supination
unstable pattern often requires ORIF
because of difficulty in maintaining
closed reduction
69. # disdlocation or subluxation of
wrist in which the dorsal or volar
rim of distal radius is displaced
mechanism-fall on to a dorsiflexed
wrist with the forearm fixed in
pronation
unstable # requires ORIF
70. Avulsion # with extrinsic ligaments
remaining attached to styloid fragment
Mechanism-compression of scaphoid
against styloid with the wrist in
dorsiflexion and ulnar deviation
Often associated with intercarpal
ligament injury
Requires ORIF
71. five factors indicative of instability
(1)initial dorsal angulation of more than 20
degrees (volar tilt),
(2) dorsal metaphyseal comminution,
(3) intraarticular involvement,
(4) an associated ulnar fracture, and
(5) patient age older than 60 years
72. Preserve hand and wrist function
Realign normal osseous anatomy
Promote bone healing
Avoid complications
Allow early finger and elbow ROM
73. Casting
Long arm vs short arm
Sugar-tong splint
External Fixation
Joint-spanning
Non bridging
Percutaneous pinning
Internal Fixation
Dorsal plating
Volar plating
Combined dorsal/volar plating
focal (fracture specific) plating
75. Obtaining and then maintaining an
acceptable reduction.
Immobilization:
long arm
short arm adequate for elderly patients
Frequent follow-up necessary in order to
diagnose redisplacement.
76. Anesthesia
Hematoma block
Intravenous sedation
Bier block
Traction: finger traps and weights
Reduction Maneuver (dorsally angulated fracture):
hyperextension of the distal fragment,
Maintain weighted traction and reduce the distal
to the proximal fragment with pressure applied
to the distal radius.
Apply well-molded “sugar-tong” splint or cast,
with wrist in neutral to slight flexion.
Avoid Extreme Positions!
77. Radial length: within 2-3 mm of the
contralateral wrist
Palmar tilt: neutral tilt
Intrarticular step-off or gap< 2mm
Radial inclination <5° loss
Carpal malalignment: absent
Ulnar variance: no more than 2 mm of
shortening compare to ulnar head
78. High-energy injury
Open injury
Secondary loss of reduction
Articular comminution, step-off, or gap
Metaphyseal comminution or bone loss
Loss of volar buttress with displacement
DRUJ incongruity
82. A spanning fixator is
one which fixes
distal radius
fractures by
spanning the carpus;
I.e., fixation into
radius and
metacarpals
Use for comminuted
fracture
83.
84. Mal-union
Pin track infection
Finger stiffness
Loss of reduction; early vs late
Tendon rupture
87. Bulky
Poor screw hold in porosis and comminution
Screws do not buttress
Cutaneous radial nerve injury
Pin tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
88.
89. intrafocal pinning
through fracture site
buttress against
displacement
Drawback-tendency to
translate distal fragment
in opposite direction
90. Useful for elevation of depressed articular
fragments and bone grafting of metaphyseal
defects
required if articular fragments can not be
adequately reduced with percutaneous
methods
91. Based on location of comminution.
Dorsal approach for dorsally angulated
fractures.
Volar approach for volar rim fractures
Radial styloid approach for buttressing of
styloid
Combined approaches needed for high-energy
fractures with significant axial impaction.
99. Generally not prefere because of high rate of
complication like
- tendon dysfunction and rupture
- tenosynovitis of extensor tendons
indicated for-
dorsal die-punch fractures or fractures
with displaced dorsal lunate facet fragments
113. External fixators still have a role in the
treatment of distal radius fractures
Spanning ex fix does not completely correct
fracture deformity by itself
Should usually combined with percutaneous
pins (augmented fixation)
114. new plating techniques allow for accurate
and rigid fixation of fragments
Plating allows early wrist ROM
Volar, smaller and more anatomic plates are
better tolerated
combination treatment is often needed