The effect of radial collateral ligament plication on varus stability in a sequential injury model of the lateral elbow: a biomechanical study.

BACKGROUND

Insufficiency of the radial collateral ligament (RCL) can lead to symptomatic minor instability of the lateral elbow. While RCL plication showed favorable clinical outcomes in treating symptomatic minor instability of the lateral elbow, its biomechanical impact on varus stability remains unclear, particularly with regard to how effectively RCL plication can restore stability compared to an intact elbow across various degrees of lateral elbow injury. This study was to evaluate the impact of RCL plication on varus stability in a model of sequential lateral elbow injury under controlled varus load.

METHODS

A custom-made device was used to test 8 fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens (60° of elbow flexion) under a controlled varus load. We examined 7 conditions: intact elbow, 3 sequential injury scenarios (anterior half of the common extensor origin [CEO] release, partial RCL release, and complete RCL release), and 3 conditions after RCL plication for the respective injury conditions. Each specimen was tested under 3 varus loads (gravity alone, and additional 0.5 and 1 kg applied to the hand). True anteroposterior radiographs of the elbow were acquired in each condition to measure the varus angle and evaluate varus stability.

RESULTS

RCL plication significantly reduced varus angle in cases of anterior half of the CEO and partial RCL release across all tested loads compared to their respective pre-plication states, while a significant reduction was not observed after RCL plication in the condition involving complete RCL release. At all load levels, varus angles in cases of RCL plication for anterior half of the CEO and partial RCL release showed no significant difference from intact elbow. However, RCL plication in complete RCL release exhibited a significantly larger varus angle than the intact elbow.

CONCLUSION

RCL plication in both anterior half of the CEO and partial RCL releases significantly improved varus stability when compared to their respective injury conditions and achieved varus stability that was comparable to that of the intact elbow. However, RCL plication in complete RCL release did not significantly improve varus stability and exhibited inferior varus stability compared to the intact elbow.