Strategies in Trauma and Limb Reconstruction

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VOLUME 6 , ISSUE 1 ( April, 2011 ) > List of Articles

CASE REPORT

Repeated floating elbow injury after high-energy trauma

Olimpio Galasso, Massimo Mariconda, Giorgio Gasparini

Keywords : Floating elbow injury, Recurrence of fractures, Open reduction and internal fixation, Difficult hardware removal

Citation Information : Galasso O, Mariconda M, Gasparini G. Repeated floating elbow injury after high-energy trauma. 2011; 6 (1):33-37.

DOI: 10.1007/s11751-011-0102-7

License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Published Online: 01-06-2012

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2011; The Author(s).


Abstract

The floating elbow is an uncommon injury occurring both in children and in adults. Two reports of rare variants of floating elbow injury have been published, but to the best of our knowledge, no recurrence of this injury has been described. We present a complex pattern of floating injury, occurring in the same limb 3 years after a floating elbow lesion, which included supracondylar fracture of the humerus and associated ipsilateral midshaft fracture of forearm bones. Satisfactory outcomes were finally obtained. This clinical case illustrates the importance of carefully assessing floating elbow injuries when they occur to optimize the surgical strategies and the adequate timing of the treatment. A comprehensive literature review of the floating elbow injuries is here reported.


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