BackgroundThe management of residual elbow instability is a challenge in both acute and chronic injuries. Hinged external fixators have been used but they are clumsy and associated to high rate of pin track complications. To address these issues, an internal joint stabilizer (IJS) was developed, but a subcutaneous frame may provide local tenderness and patients ‘complains. To improve the local comfort, the present study describes an alternative surgical approach in which the internal device is covered by the anconeus muscle becoming submuscular rather than subcutaneous as originally described. MethodsA prospective collection was performed of consecutive patients managed with an IJS (Skeletal Dynamics, Miami, FL, USA) as a temporary and additional stabilization for a residual elbow instability and covered by an anconeus flap. ResultsTen consecutive patients underwent IJS covered by an anconeus flap from January 2022, of whom eight with an acute injury and two suffering chronic injuries. At the mean follow-up of 13.5 months, all the patients had a stable elbow with a maintained concentric reduction. Successful results were achieved in terms of pain, ROM and clinical outcomes. All patients underwent removal surgery at an average of 5.5 months without any local discomfort or complains. The device removal required a small anconeus elevation which appeared of good quality in each patient analyzed. ConclusionThe IJS represents an effective and reliable option as a temporary stabilization for residual elbow instability. When performing a lateral approach with an anconeus flap, the internal device can be completely covered by the muscle belly at the end of the procedure. The preliminary results suggest at least similar tolerance and patient ‘satisfaction without any relevant increase in complication rare.
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