Introduction – Elbow dislocation in children is a rare lesion and most of the times is associated with a fracture of the medial epicondyle. When there is a fracture of the radial neck it is even more rare and usually represents a major instability with large soft tissue disruption.

Methods – Between 1984 and 2003, 56 patients with unilateral elbow dislocations were identified ranging from 4 to15 years of age. In 8 patients a radial neck fracture was associated and in two there was a radio ulnar translocation . All these patients were treated the same way: closed reduction of the fracture dislocation under general anesthesia, evaluation of the instability and fracture fixation by closed means (Metaizeau technique). No ligamentous reconstruction was performed even in the presence of severe instability after bone reconstruction. A plaster was applied for two weeks followed by active mobilization.

Results – All fractures healed with no complications. All patients except one regained full range of motion. The patient with a loss of extension (20°) complaints of pain on the lateral side during sports activity and has a minor instability test positive for the lateral collateral ligament.

Discussion – This is a rare lesion in children not well documented in the literature. In the adult population there is an emphasis on the necessity of a repair of the soft-tissue structures as an integral part of the surgical strategy for elbow dislocation that require operative treatment (Mckee et al. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2003 Jul–Aug;12(4):391–6). In this small series we found no major instability in a long follow-up study even without reconstruction of the soft-tissues.

Conclusion – We concluded that in this particular type of lesion, a close anatomical reduction of the articular surfaces with restoration of the normal relationship around the elbow was fundamental to restore elbow stability with no need for soft-tissue reconstruction