[Intra-articular fractures of the distal humerus]

The authors analysed 79 patients with intraarticular fracture of the distal end of the humerus, treated during the past 5 years. Seventeen patients were treated by conservative methods, and 62 by surgery. Of the latter, 23 required emergency operations. In the majority of cases, open reduction was accomplished by special plates for the distal end of the humerus and by Y-plates. Screws, Kirschner wires and suture of bone fragments were rarely used. The most frequently employed approach was osteotomy of the olecranon. The results were excellent, except in 13 patients.