Elbow Trauma
A 55-year-old man falls directly onto his flexed elbow. He presents with pain, swelling, and a palpable gap over the posterior elbow. He is unable to extend the elbow against gravity. Radiographs show a transverse displaced fracture through the olecranon with 5mm of separation. The coronoid and radial head appear intact. The fracture is at the level of the middle third of the semilunar notch. Regarding olecranon fractures:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Olecranon fractures occur from direct trauma (fall onto flexed elbow) or indirect trauma (triceps av...
The Mayo classification categorizes fractures by stability and comminution: Type I (undisplaced), Ty...
Olecranon fractures never affect elbow extension; the triceps inserts on the coronoid; displaced fra...
Tension band wiring (two parallel K-wires with figure-of-8 wire) converts triceps tensile forces int...
Plate fixation is preferred for comminuted fractures, fractures extending into the coronoid, oblique...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option