Medial collateral ligament healing after posttraumatic radial head arthroplasty: A retrospective study of 33 cases with a mean follow-up of 73 months.

Comminuted radial head fractures are usually associated with destabilizing lesions of the elbow. The radial head prosthesis (RHP) is a therapeutic alternative when fracture fixation is impossible, as it restores one of the elbow's secondary stabilizers. The aim of this study was to assess healing of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) after implantation of a RHP. All patients implanted with a RHP during the 2003-2012 period were eligible for follow-up ultrasound evaluation of MCL healing. A clinical evaluation with standardized tests (DASH and MEPS) was performed and the patients asked to evaluate their elbow's stability during the same follow-up visit. Out of the 33 eligible patients, 20 were included with a mean follow-up of 73 months. The MCL had been torn in 15 of these 20 patients; the MCL appeared healed on the ultrasound images in 13 patients. The elbow was considered subjectively stable in 19 patients. The mean DASH score was 21.4 (±16.67) and the mean MEPS was 84.7 (±13.9); these scores were 17.19 (±14.0) and 88.3 (±10.9) for patients with a healed MCL, versus 32.5 (±10.6) and 70 (±0.0) for patients with a non-healed MCL. Our findings suggest that a torn MCL can heal after RHP implantation, even without surgical ligament repair or reattachment.