Isolated Anterior Dislocation of the Radial Head with Atypical Presentation in an Adult: A Case Report / Luxação anterior isolada da cabeça radial com apresentação atípica em um adulto: Relato de caso

Abstract Isolated anterior dislocation of the radial head is rarely reported. To date, only five cases have been reported in the world literature. In all of these cases, the patients presented with restricted supination-pronation movements of the forearm with maintained elbow flexion-extension. We report an unusual case of isolated anterior radial head dislocation in an 18-year-old male, who presented with maintained supination-pronation movements of the forearm but restricted elbow flexion-extension. Closed reduction was attempted, but it failed. Hence, an open reduction was performed. However, the reduction was unstable due to rupture of the annular ligament. Hence, the repair of the annular ligament was performed, and a radio-ulnar Kirschner wire was passed to maintain the reduction of the proximal radio-ulnar joint, thus keeping the annular ligament stress-free, facilitating its healing. At 12 months of follow-up, the patient had normal elbow function and complete range of motion.

Resumo A literatura sobre a luxação anterior isolada da cabeça do rádio é escassa, com apenas cinco casos relatados no mundo inteiro até hoje. Em todos esses casos, os pacientes apresentaram movimentos de supinação-pronação restritos do antebraço, e manutenção da flexão-extensão do cotovelo. Os autores apresentam um caso incomum de luxação de cabeça radial anterior isolada em um paciente do sexo masculino de 18 anos, que apresentou movimentos de supinação-pronação no antebraço e restrição na flexão-extensão do cotovelo. A redução fechada foi tentada, mas sem sucesso. Assim, foi feita a redução aberta. No entanto, a redução foi instável devido à ruptura do ligamento anular. Por isso, o reparo do ligamento anular foi realizado, e um fio de Kirschner rádio-ulnar foi inserido para manter a redução da articulação rádio-ulnar proximal, evitando estresse sobre o ligamento anular, facilitando sua cicatrização. Aos 12 meses de acompanhamento, o paciente apresentava função normal do cotovelo e amplitude de movimento completa.

Displaced Tibial Plateau Fractures: Is There A Role Of Conservative Treatment In The Present Scenario.

This retrospective case series includes 92 closed tibial plateau fractures treated by operative (66 patients) and conservative (26 patients) methods at our institution.The means and mean differences of grades of the objective variables of extensor lag and range of motion and articular step were better in the surgically treated patients (p value <0.05), while those of axial alignment and side to side instability did not show any statistical significance. An average articular step of more than 1.6 mm significantly deteriorated the functional outcome.Achieving articular congruity is the most important factor for the successful outcome of tibial plateau fractures. Operative treatment in the presence of adequate expertise and infrastructure gives satisfactory results. Type V and VI fractures are highly unstable fractures and need to be treated by more stable fixation in the form of dual plating and/or locked compression plating. The variables like extensor lag, range of motion and radiological articular step directly correlate with the functional outcome of tibial plateau fractures. The conservative treatment should only be accepted as last option in case of displaced tibial plateau fractures.