The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2009;91:2693-2695.
doi:10.2106/JBJS.H.00971
© 2009 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
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 Shoulder/Elbow Test 29: Winter 2010 (publication date February 16, 2010; ex...
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Refractory Elbow Arthrofibrosis

A Report of Four Cases

Sergiy Nesterenko, MD1, Joaquin Sanchez-Sotelo, MD1 and Bernard F. Morrey, MD1

1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street S.W., Rochester, MN 55905. E-mail address for J. Sanchez-Sotelo: sanchezsotelo.joaquin@mayo.edu

Investigation performed at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.


   Introduction
 
Most patients with elbow stiffness have contractures proportional in severity to the initial insult. However, there is a subset of individuals who have stiffness after relatively minor events and who experience repeated early recurrences after soft-tissue contracture release. The purpose of the present report was to describe the clinical features and outcomes for patients presenting with such a condition, which we term refractory elbow arthrofibrosis.

The elbow has a certain propensity for the development of stiffness after injuries or surgery1,2. Contracture of the capsule with extensive fibrosis is a central pathologic element in most stiff elbows, but the severity of capsular fibrosis varies considerably from patient to patient. There is some association between the severity of the initial insult to the joint and the intensity of the fibrotic capsular response. Several studies have documented predictable and permanent improvements in motion when the abnormal capsule is surgically removed3-6.

Over . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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