Post-traumatic elbow stiffness is a disabling condition that remains challenging for upper limb surgeons. Open elbow arthrolysis is commonly used for the treatment of stiff elbow when conservative therapy has failed. Multiple questions commonly arise from surgeons who deal with this disease. These include whether the patient has post-traumatic stiff elbow, how to evaluate the problem, when surgery is appropriate, how to perform an excellent arthrolysis, what the optimal postoperative rehabilitation is, and how to prevent or reduce the incidence of complications. Following these questions, this review provides an update and overview of post-traumatic elbow stiffness with respect to the diagnosis, preoperative evaluation, arthrolysis strategies, postoperative rehabilitation, and prevention of complications, aiming to provide a complete diagnosis and treatment path. Cite this article:
Introduction: There remains little evidence to discern whether K-wires or screws have different outcomes in the management of lateral condylar mass (LCM) fractures in children. We studied 77 displaced (Jacob types II and III) fractures of the lateral humeral condyle in 77 children in order to infer the relative benefit of one strategy over another. Materials and methods: Between 1995 and 2005, we identified 77 LCM fractures in the departmental database. Information was collected from theatre-charts, casenotes and radiographs. We analysed demographic data, fracture features, treatment modalities, complications, and clinical and radiographic results. We excluded all complex LCM associated with
