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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Rev Bras Ortop (Sao Paulo) 2023; 58(06): e885-e890
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1771491
Artigo Original | Original Article

Postoperative Functional Evaluation in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment of the Terrible Triad Injury of the Elbow

Article in several languages: português | English
Anny Carolline Matutino Amorim 
1   Médico Residente em Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brasil
,
Fábio Aguiar Dias 
1   Médico Residente em Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brasil
,
Nivaldo Souza Cardozo Filho 
2   Coordenador do programa de residência médica em Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brasil
,
Felipe Sodré Sousa 
3   Preceptor da residência médica em Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brasil
,
Tasso Ribeiro Alves 
1   Médico Residente em Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brasil
,
Alexandre Vasconcelos de Meirelles 
1   Médico Residente em Ortopedia e Traumatologia do Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brasil
› Author Affiliations Financial Support This study did not receive any financial support from public, commercial, or non-profit sources.
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Abstract

Objective To evaluate the functional results of patients submitted to a surgical approach for the treatment of the terrible triad of the elbow, analyzing the treatment methods used and associated epidemiological variables.

Methods Patients who underwent surgical treatment for the terrible triad of the elbow from February 2018 to June 2020 at our service were evaluated. The identified sample consisted of 17 patients, but of these, only 13 completed all stages of the study and, therefore, were considered as the universe to be considered. Epidemiological information of interest was collected: age, sex, hand of dominance, affected side, characteristics and classification of injuries, trauma mechanism, time to surgery, type of procedure performed and range of motion. The Mason classification was used for radial head fractures and the Regan and Morrey classification for the coronoid process. In order to perform a functional analysis, the DASH and BRUCE questionnaires were applied.

Results About 77% of the patients were male, 92% of the fracture mechanisms were due to high-energy trauma. Contrary to this, the predominance of the non-dominant side was observed as the most affected. Evaluating the results according to the time to start the treatment, the patients operated within 14 days had statistically better functional results.

Conclusion Surgical treatment of TTIE generates acceptable functional results in most cases. The success of the treatment is related to the time interval between the trauma and the first surgery, in addition to the severity of the injuries.

Keywords

coronoid fracture - elbow dislocation - radial head fracture - terrible triad injury of elbow - elbow joint.

Study developed at the Orthopaedics and Traumatology Department of the Hospital do Oeste, BA, Brazil.




Publication History

Received: 04 October 2022

Accepted: 02 December 2022

Article published online:
08 December 2023

© 2023. Sociedade Brasileira de Ortopedia e Traumatologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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