Treatment of fresh Monteggia fracture with steel-wire loop in adults whose annular ligament needs repairing / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the treatment of fresh Monteggia fracture with a steel-wire loop for adults whose annular ligament needs repairing. Methods From May 2006 to March 2008, we treated 15 adult patients with fresh Monteggia fracture whose annular ligament needed repairing with a steel-wire loop. A retrospective study was performed for the 15 cases, including 9 males and 6 females. Their ages ranged from 19 to 46 years. According to the Bado classification system, there were 6 cases of type Ⅰ, 4 type Ⅱ, 5 type Ⅲ. The ulnar fractures were treated with open reduction and compression plate fixation. Next, radial head dislocations were reduced openly and the reduced heads were hitched to the proximal end of the ulna with a steel-wire loop of 0.8 mm in diameter around the radial neck. Last, the broken annular ligaments were repaired. The elbow functional trainings were carried out 48 hours after operation and the steel-wire was removed 3 weeks postoperatively. Results The patients were followed up for 8 to 11 months (mean,9. 5 months). The functional recovery evaluated by Broberg and Morrey evaluation system showed excellent results in 11 patients, good in 2, fair in 2 and poor in 0. The excellent to good rate was 86. 7%.Conclusion The steel-wire loop treatment is a good strategy for adults with fresh Monteggia fracture whose annular ligament needs repairing.