Surgical treatment of chronic anterior radial head dislocations in missed Monteggia lesions in children: A rationale for treatment and pearls and pitfalls of surgery

Abstract

Introduction The treatment of chronic radial head dislocations after Monteggia lesions in children can be challenging. This article provides a detailed description of the most frequently performed surgical technique: an ulna osteotomy followed by annular ligament reconstruction. Accordingly, we present the clinical and radiological results of 10 paediatric cases. Material and methods All paediatric patients that had a corrective osteotomy of the ulna for a missed Monteggia lesion between 2008 and 2014 were evaluated with standard radiographs and clinical examination. A literature search was performed to identify the relevant pearls and pitfalls of surgery. Primary outcome was range of motion. Results We included 10 patients, with a mean follow-up of 2.5 years. Postoperative range of motion generally improved 30.7°. Even in a patient with obvious deformity of the radial head, range of motion improved after surgery, without residual dislocation of the radial head. Conclusion Corrective proximal ulna osteotomy with rigid plate fixation and annular ligament reconstruction yields good results in patients with chronic radial head dislocation following a Monteggia lesion. Surgery should be considered regardless of patient age or time since trauma. Given substantial arguments in literature, we discourage surgery if a CT scan shows dome-shaped radial head dysmorphic features in work-up to surgery.