Fifty-two patients with a radiographically verified dislocation of the
elbow were re-examined at an average of twenty-four years after injury.
Half of the patients had no residual symptoms or signs whatsoever and more
than one-third had a slight or moderate decrease in the range of extension,
which was associated with slight degenerative change in the joint or with
periarticular calcification. No reduction in joint space was evident. Even
when the examination revealed some instability in a few patients they did
not register complaints. Among the patients who had sustained the injury
when they were less than sixteen years old, there were few with residual
symptoms, signs, or radiographic changes.