Abstract

Elbow dislocation is relatively uncommon in skeletally immature patients. Numerous reports describe elbow dislocations in children with or without associated fractures. These dislocations are most commonly posterior, although other types have been described, and are usually associated with fractures around the elbow. Isolated elbow dislocation is a very uncommon injury especially in children. The youngest ever-reported child in the English literature with an elbow dislocation was a 4-year-old girl with a transverse divergent dislocation and an avulsed bony fragment from the coronoid process. We report a rare case of isolated posterior elbow dislocation in an 18-month-old child. This appears to be the youngest case with this type of injury in the English literature. Management involved closed reduction under general anaesthesia followed by a 2-weeks period of immobilisation in a plaster of Paris back-slab. At last follow-up, the patient regained a full range of pain free movements.