Management of Adult Lateral Condyle Fracture: Unveiling a Complex Elbow Injury: A Case Report.

Abstract

Introduction: Lateral condyle fracture with elbow instability is a rare injury. To our knowledge, this is the second case report describing the mechanism of injury and its management.

Case report: We report the case of 42-year-old gentleman sustained injury to elbow following slip and fall. He presented to us after 2 weeks of injury diagnosed to have lateral condyle fracture of humerus managed conservatively with elbow instability which was missed initially. On further evaluation, he was found to have type 1 coronoid avulsion injury. Intraoperatively, we found that the capsular avulsion injury from coronoid was the primary reason for instability. We have tried to describe the possible mechanism of injury and management in this case report.

Conclusion: Lateral condyle fracture in adults is a rare injury which can disguise the more complex trauma associated with fracture dislocation of elbow. Proper preoperative evaluation with intraoperative assessment of elbow instability is crucial for obtaining good outcome.