Hybrid Tension Band Wiring for Olecranon Fractures

Tension band wiring (TBW) is a standard surgical technique for treating olecranon fractures (OFs). We devised a hybrid TBW (HTBW) combining TBW using wires with eyelets and cerclage wiring. Twenty-six patients with isolated OFs with Colton classification groups 1-2C were subjected to HTBW, and the data was compared with those treated with conventional TBW (38 patients). The mean operation time and hardware removal rate were 51 versus 67 minutes (p < 0.001) and 42% versus 74% (p < 0.012), respectively. The HTBW group had one patient (4%) with surgical wire breakage. The conventional TBW group had 14 patients (37%) with symptomatic backout of Kirschner wires, three patients (8%) with loss of reduction, two patients (5%) with surgical site infection and one patient (3%) with ulnar nerve palsy. The motion and functional score ranges of the elbow were not significantly different. Therefore, this procedure may be a feasible alternative.