Introduction
Intraarticular fractures of the distal humerus is one of the demanding injuries to manage due to its complex anatomy. Open reduction internal fixation is able to achieve painless, stable, and mobile joint. This study is aimed at comparing the functional outcomes of patients treated with triceps reflecting and olecranon osteotomy approach.
Materials And Methods
A hospital-based randomized comparative study of 40 patients diagnosed with distal humerus intraarticular fracture admitted to our hospital from April 2017 to March 2019. Triceps reflecting approach (group A) was used in 20 patients and olecranon osteotomy approach (group B) in 20 patients. Elbow range of movements and MEPS was used to compare the outcome.
Results
The mean elbow range of motion is 95.8 ± 13.5 degrees at 1 year follow up in Group A and 94.5 ± 9.3 degrees in 1 year follow up at 1 year follow up in Group B. The mean MEP score at end of 1 year in group A was 93.8 ± 2.9 and in the group, B was 91.5 ± 3.2 shows excellent results but there was no statistically significant difference between the MEP scores of the two groups. We observed 6 patients who developed extension lag less than 10 degrees in group A which was clinically insignificant and 7 patients developed hardware prominence in group B.
Conclusion
Triceps reflecting Bryan Morrey approach is equally effective as the olecranon osteotomy approach in the treatment of distal humerus intraarticular fracture with less complication and operative time.