We reviewed the cases of 107 patients who underwent surgical treatment
of an isolated fracture of the olecranon. Fifty-three patients were treated
by primary excision and fifty-four, by open reduction and internal fixation
by various methods. Static and dynamic strength measurements were obtained
from the elbow extensors of twenty-nine patients from these two groups. In
the over-all series, the ratings for pain, function, range of motion, elbow
stability, and incidence of degenerative joint changes were similar for
each group. However, thirteen local complications occurred in the
fifty-four patients who had open reduction and two, in the fifty-three who
had primary excision. Need for removal of the fixation device led to an
additional thirteen procedures in the fixation group. Biomechanical testing
demonstrated no significant difference in elbow extensor performance for
the two groups.