An unusual association of elbow divergent dislocation with ulna fracture in an adult

Traumatic divergent dislocation of the elbow is an extremely rare injury that usually occurs in children. Warmont gave the clinical descriptions of the first cases in 1854 and Wight in 1893. Delee reported the first radiologically confirmed case in1981, and since then, 13 cases have been reported among young patients and only 5 in adults. Here, we present the unusual association of a divergent dislocation of the left elbow with a fracture of the ulna shaft in a 55-year-old man. After a successful reduction of the dislocation, internal fixation of the ulna shaft was done and the arm was casted for three weeks followed by early mobilization. At one-year follow-up, the patient regained full range of motion. The treatment of divergent dislocation of the elbow in adult is guided by some cases reported in the literature and until now, there is no clear consensus. In this unusual case, the surgery was necessary and fortunately led us to a good clinical outcome. Finally, our case can be added to the previous one hoping for a better understanding of this pathology.