Posterolateral instability of the elbow

The authors describe a rare case of recurrent posterior post-traumatic subdislocation of the elbow in a male aged 40 years. From a clinical point of view, it is a highly disabling condition, due to lesion of the ulnar portion of the radial collateral ligament. It is produced at minimum degrees of flexion movement in the elbow and depending on the entity of capsuloligamentous injury it may occur with episodes of instability, recurrent subdislocation or recurrent dislocation. Treatment is surgery and capsuloligamentous reconstruction according to the Osborne-Cotteril method, which has allowed for very satisfactory results to be obtained.