Transarticular Cartilage Retrograde Intramedullary Pinning Surgery for Humeral Transcondylar Fractures: An Effective Approach to Preventing Postoperative Elbow Joint Contracture

As a treatment for humeral transcondylar fractures, conservative therapy is prone to false joints. Although various surgeries are available, plate fixation is highly invasive to soft tissues and prone to contracture of the elbow joint, and percutaneous pinning results in weak fixation and tends to damage the ulnar nerve. In this report of two cases, we describe a new transarticular cartilage retrograde intramedullary pinning surgical method that is less invasive to soft tissues, has an accurate reduction and strong fixation, and does not damage the ulnar nerve. This surgery was performed on two patients with humeral transcondylar fractures who presented to our hospital. Both patients achieved good results, with strong bone fusion and sufficient elbow range of motion for activities of daily life.