Secondary radial head dislocation and dysplasia of the lateral condyle after elbow trauma in children.

We report five cases of a rare complication of childhood fractures of the elbow region. The complication consists of posttraumatic dissolution of the lateral humeral condyle followed by secondary radial head overgrowth and dislocation. The initial injuries ranged from displaced lateral condyle fractures (three patients) to a supracondylar fracture and an open elbow dislocation. Dysplasia of the lateral humeral condyle was first noted 1 to 4 years after the trauma (mean, 2.5 years) and seemed to be caused by removal of the displaced fracture fragment in one patient, and possibly by malfixation and repeated surgical procedures in the others. Because of loss of motion, ulnar nerve irritation, and cosmetic deformities, corrective osteotomies had to be performed in four patients and additional radial head removal in two patients.