A Rare Case of a Bilateral Olecranon Fracture in a Young Adult With a Two-Year Follow-Up

TL;DR

This paper presents a rare case of a young adult with bilateral elbow fractures and successful recovery using tailored surgical methods.

Contribution

The paper contributes a rare clinical case of bilateral olecranon fractures in a young adult with a detailed follow-up and treatment approach.

Findings

The patient achieved full elbow motion by the sixth week post-surgery.

Tailored surgical techniques led to successful functional recovery.

Bilateral fractures without long bone injuries are uncommon in young adults.

Abstract

Olecranon fractures are common in orthopedic wards and can be traumatic or pathological in origin. There are very few cases of bilateral olecranon fractures without any associated injuries to the long bones in the literature. We present a unique case of a young 21-year-old male who has an isolated bilateral olecranon fracture following a road traffic accident. The patient had a closed fracture of the ulna on both sides without any associated injuries or neurovascular compromise. Since the patient was young and had good muscle strength preoperatively, we planned fixation of both sides. The patient underwent open reduction and internal fixation with tension band wiring on the right side, which was his dominant side. The left side was operated on by open reduction and internal fixation with an anatomical plate. The patient was started on elbow range of motion on the right side from the second postoperative day and started basic activities such as having food independently by the 10th day postoperatively. The physiotherapy was continued in a stepwise manner, and by the sixth week, the patient had a full range of motion on both sides. The patient had resumed his activities of daily living independently by the sixth week following the surgery. Such cases are rare, and a case-based management plan must be devised for each patient, considering contributing factors such as age, bone quality, osteoporosis, underlying medical comorbidities, functional demands, and muscle strength. We demonstrated a good clinical and radiological outcome by using tension band wiring on the dominant side with a stable olecranon fracture and plating done on the non-dominant side, which had an unstable displaced olecranon fracture.

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