Olecranon Fractures - Review of Treatment and Complications

Abstract

Olecranon fractures are common upper extremity fractures usually subject to surgical fixation. Several options exist for olecranon fracture treatment, tension band, plating, intramedullary nail and fragment excision with triceps advancement are the most used but no technique is suitable for the management of all olecranon fractures and each one is associated with more or less prevalence of the most common complications, namely loss of motion, nonunion, malunion, infection, wound dehiscence, instability, symptomatic hardware, ulnar neuritis, posttraumatic arthritis, and heterotopic ossification.