Isolated dislocation of the radial head

Fifty-four patients (12 bilateral) with isolated dislocations of the radial head were encountered over a 20-year period. The congenital varieties (26 patients) included isolated unilateral, familial, synostosis-related, and syndrome-related. The acquired types (28 patients) involved trauma, neuromuscular impairment, or adaptive dislodgments. Acute, traumatic dislocation (17 patients) was the most common presentation. Others were diagnosed incidentally, or associated with discomfort, dysfunction, or deformity. Closed reduction of an acute traumatic dislocation was generally successful (16 of 17 patients). Realignment attempts (three cases) on late diagnosed traumatic cases and isolated congenital types were invariably unsuccessful, eventually requiring radial head excision. Four patients underwent excision of the head of the radius as primary treatment.