Elbow Dislocation Repair

What is an Elbow Dislocation?

Elbow Dislocation occurs when the surfaces of an elbow are separated. Elbow dislocations can be complete or partial. A complete dislocation is referred to as a dislocation; a partial dislocation is referred to as a subluxation. Complex and complete dislocations often involve injury to bone, ligaments, nerve and surrounding blood vessels. In extreme cases trauma such as this can lead to a high risk of loosing an arm. 

Why does a Dislocation occur?

Although dislocation of the elbow is uncommon, there are two main causes for dislocation or subluxation and they are:

i) Traumatic Dislocation: caused by a significant or high impact, rotates and forces the elbow out of its socket. This is an injury that is frequently sustained in road traffic accidents where the crash victim braces them self on a car dashboard with outstretched arms prior to impact.

ii) Atraumatic or Positional Dislocation: caused by abnormally lax joints and/or cartilage that fails to support and hold the elbow joint in place (patients with this condition are often referred to as 'double jointed'). In addition, a small number of individuals are born with an overly shallow groove for an elbow hinge joint, which makes them highly prone to developing sublaxation.

Elbow Dislocation usually compromises the ability of an individual to bend, straighten and rotate their arm. This condition is extremely painful and usually presents as a perfectly obvious picture because of the externally deformed and twisted appearance of the affected joint.

How is an Elbow Dislocation treated without surgery?

Elbow Dislocation can be treated conservatively by manipulating the elbow back into its correct position, treating any pain with painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication and gradually training the surrounding ligaments and muscles to tighten and support the joint through physiotherapy. The short-term aim of this conservative procedure (known as a reduction manoeuvre) is to restore alignment of the elbow joint and restore elbow function. However, an unstable elbow joint that repeatedly dislocates is unlikely to respond well to this type of non-surgical intervention and will typically require surgery.

How is an Elbow Dislocation treated with surgery?

A surgical procedure to resolve a dislocation is usually performed under general anaesthetic and takes around one to one and a half hours to complete, dependant on the complexity and extent of the dislocation and surrounding trauma. 

An operation to repair a complex dislocation is usually performed through a traditional incision (also known as an open procedure) during which the surgeon will carefully explore, repair & restore any fragments of bone or torn ligaments, vessels and/or nerves as well as repair the dislocation.

The ultimate aim of reconstructive surgery such as this is to eliminate the dislocation problem as well as restore nerve sensation, blood circulation and a full range of joint movement. However, due to the complexity of this type of operation it is often necessary to reconstruct the elbow over a number of staged procedures.

What is the recovery like?

Once a patient is fully recovered from the effects of anaesthetic they are normally quickly encouraged to be as active and mobile as possible to avoid joint stiffness and other complications such as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) from developing. It is therefore normal for patients to be encouraged to take a short walk and perform gentle postoperative exercises with guidance from a physiotherapist on the day of surgery.

Following a progressive improvement of mobility and pain control patients are normally discharged from hospital 2-3 days following surgery. By the time the required level of recovery is achieved for discharge, patients are normally fully mobile, wearing a light weight dressing and support sling on the effected elbow, eating and drinking normally and taking only mild analgesia (pain killers).

Over the next 6 weeks patients will be expected to work on improving their effected joints mobility and stability through a dedicated and progressive upper limb physiotherapy regime.

Your Consultant Surgeon will assess your joints stability and range of movement after 6 weeks and then again after three months to evaluate how successful your elbow procedure has been. Patients should expect a continuous and full physical recovery to take around nine to twelve months to achieve.

Are there any risks associated with Shoulder Dislocation surgery?

Although shoulder dislocation repair surgery is regularly performed without any complications, it is very important that all candidates are fully aware of both the benefits and risks of undertaking this type of specialist upper limb surgery.

All surgery, no mater how expertly or carefully it is performed, carries risks and the importance of a full evaluation and consultation with an expert in shoulder surgery to discuss your condition in relation to these risks cannot be over emphasised.

How do I find out if I am a suitable candidate for Shoulder Dislocation surgery?

Surgical Advisor will be delighted to help you find a leading expert in Shoulder surgery to consult with. Your surgeon will carry out a thorough evaluation of your condition and provide you with a comprehensive explanation of the most appropriate surgical solution.
 
Our Expert Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeons are most carefully selected and recommended because they understand the importance of the decision you are making when contemplating complex shoulder surgery and because of their specialist upper limb surgical expertise. Throughout your consultation you will therefore be encouraged to ask as many questions as you wish and to take your time in making a decision to proceed with any recommended treatment.

To ensure that patients are comfortable with any recommendations or advice given in their consultation, all patients are asked to go away after a consultation and think through all the information they have received. If for whatever reason you are still not sure about the best course of action and wish to have further dialogue with your surgeon, you will not be expected to pay for a second consultation appointment.

How do I make a consultation appointment?

For further advice on how to make an appointment to consult with an expert upper limb orthopaedic surgeon: 

Please call Surgical Advisor on: 0870 41 41 41 2
Or email us by clicking on: advice@surgicaladvisor.com