[Therapy, especially arthrolysis and its results, in stiffened elbow joints after fractures]

Arthrolysis plays an important part in the treatment of stiffened elbow joints after fractures. The article reports on the technical details of surgery and postoperative positional-change and exercise therapy, basing on the experience collected with a group of 30 patients. The intra-operatively detected causes of stiffening, postoperative complications and, finally, the mobility growth rates obtained in this manner, are shown and discussed while comparing these results with those achieved by other authors. This comparison also serves as a basis for a detailed discussion. The authors suggest as a standard measure for assessing the success of arthrolysis, an extent of mobility amounting to 0-30-110 degrees; in any case, a bending capacity (flexion) of 110 degrees should be accepted as a standard measure for such an assessment.