Clin Orthop Relat Res 2019 Oct;477(10):2319-2328
Z. Sun, H. Cui, J. Ruan, J. Li, W. Wang, C. Fan, Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, P. R. China W. Wang, C. Fan, Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East Affiliated to Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Background: The elbow is more susceptible to loss of motion after trauma than any other joint. Open arthrolysis often is performed for posttraumatic elbow stiffness if the stiffness does not improve with nonsurgical treatment, but the midterm results of this procedure and factors that may limit recovery have not been widely studied.
Questions/purposes: We reviewed patients who had undergone open arthrolysis with hinged external fixator for severe posttraumatic elbow stiffness (ROM ≤ 60°) with a minimum of 5 years followup to (1) analyze ROM gains; (2) assess functional improvement with the Mayo Elbow Performance Index (MEPI) and DASH, quality of life with the SF-36, pain with VAS, and ulnar nerve function with the Amadio rating scale and Dellon classification; and (3) identify complications and risk factors that might hinder mid-term elbow motion recovery after this procedure. Read More