Corrective osteotomy for cubitus varus deformity

Between 1970 and 1992, 23 patients with cubitus varus deformities following elbow fractures underwent 26 corrective lateral-wedge osteotomies at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. Internal fixation was most commonly provided by either small Steinmann pins, two screws and a figure-of-eight wire, or a small two-hole plate. Sixteen patients had a good result and 10 were judged to have poor results. Two of the 10 patients with poor results had inadequate intraoperative correction. Unstable internal fixation allowed osteotomy fragments to slip into varus in the remaining eight poor results (three with Steinmann pins and five with figure-of-eight wire). Nonrigid internal fixation was obvious even in the patients who received good correction of their cubitus varus. Of the 16 patients with good postoperative results, six demonstrated loss of fixation with extension of the distal fragment. In addition, seven patients with poor results also had slippage of the distal osteotomy fragment into extension. These patients had between 5 and 15 degrees of apparent elbow hyperextension with concomitant loss of elbow fixation. We now recommend a two-hole lateral plate and a percutaneous medial pin to enhance the stability of internal fixation.