Operative treatment of olecranon nonunion

Records of five patients treated surgically for nonunion of the olecranon were reviewed. Four of the five fractures leading to nonunion were comminuted or oblique. Three nonunions occurred after tension band wiring, one nonunion occurred after open reduction internal fixation with a semitubular plate, and one nonunion occurred after treatment with a cast. The median interval from fracture to treatment of nonunion was 8 months. All nonunions were treated surgically. Four patients were treated with a tension band plate technique. All nonunions united at a median of 3 months. The median follow-up period was 36 months (range, 12-48 months).