Olecranon fractures: Tension band wiring and complications

Abstract

The tension band wiring (TBW) technique is a common treatment for the fixation of olecranon fractures. Fixing olecranon fractures by Tension-band wire technique leads to high rate of complications and re operation rate because of prominent metalwork mainly to the backing-out of the Kirschner wires. A prospective study was conducted in 70 patients with displaced olecranon fractures operated with the tension-band wiring and 65% patients were re-operated. Other complications were also reported in some of patients like stiffness and non-union. Results of our study and complications as per literature support the conclusion that TBW is challenging surgery to achieve good functional outcome.