Engaging Posterior Capitellum Fracture and Elbow Posterolateral Rotatory Instability: Is It Always Necessary to Treat the Bone Defect?

Abstract

Case. We present a 23-year-old male with 7 episodes of left elbow dislocation during a two-year period. He had a positive pivot shift test with engaging. The original treatment plan included lateral ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction and eventually bone defect grafting and osteosynthesis. However, a bone graft was not performed. After 2 years of follow-up, the DASH score was 3.3. The Mayo Score was 90. Conclusion. Posterolateral instability associated with an engaging bone defect, in every elbow extension and pivot shift test, was not found in the literature. The capitellum defects are associated with PLRI and make it worse. Bone reconstruction may not be indicated.