Radial head fracture - non-displaced

Case contributed by Matt Skalski
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Trauma a few days ago.

Patient Data

Age: 25 years
Gender: Male

There is a vertical fracture line extending through the central articular surface of the radial head, exiting laterally at the radial head/neck junction. The intra-articular fat pads of the elbow are not elevated (i.e. no sail sign to indicate joint effusion). 

Annotated image

The fracture line is indicated by the blue arrow.

Case Discussion

Typical example of a non-displaced fracture of the radial head (Mason type 1) which is commonly referred to as a "chisel fracture", as the fracture is similar to what you would expect to see if you put a chisel at the end of a piece of wood and tapped it with a hammer. 

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