Retrospective Cohort Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Mar 18, 2024; 15(3): 215-229
Published online Mar 18, 2024. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v15.i3.215
Peri-articular elbow fracture fixations with magnesium implants and a review of current literature: A case series
Christopher Fang, Antony Xavier Rex Premchand, Derek Howard Park, Dong Hao Toon
Christopher Fang, Antony Xavier Rex Premchand, Derek Howard Park, Dong Hao Toon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National Healthcare Group, Singapore 768828, Singapore
Author contributions: Fang C contributed to data collection, statistical analysis and drafting of manuscript; Premchand A and Park DH contributed to invaluable guidance and providing post-operative care and documentation for post-operative patients; Toon DH contributed to performing the surgeries for the patients and overseeing all work on the original article.
Institutional review board statement: Our study was approved by our institutions local domain specific review board prior to commencement. All ethical protocols were followed.
Informed consent statement: As the study was retrospective and anonymous, no formal informed consent was deemed necessary and this was waived. Informal consent and verbal consent was documented in our hospitals electronic records system as her instruction by our IRB.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: All data collection and sharing was performed according to the methodology set out in the domain specific review board application.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement – checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement – checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Christopher Fang, MBBS, MMed, Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National Healthcare Group, 90 Yishun Central, Singapore 768828, Singapore. chrisfang91@gmail.com
Received: December 3, 2023
Peer-review started: December 3, 2023
First decision: January 6, 2024
Revised: January 11, 2024
Accepted: February 2, 2024
Article in press: February 2, 2024
Published online: March 18, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

In recent years, the use of Magnesium alloy implants have gained renewed popularity, especially after the first commercially available Conformité Européenne approved Magnesium implant became available (MAGNEZIX® CS, Syntellix) in 2013.

AIM

To document our clinical and radiographical outcomes using magnesium implants in treating peri-articular elbow fractures.

METHODS

Our paper was based on a retrospective case series design. Intra-operatively, a standardized surgical technique was utilized for insertion of the magnesium implants. Post – operatively, clinic visits were standardized and physical exam findings, functional scores, and radiographs were obtained at each visit. All complications were recorded.

RESULTS

Five patients with 6 fractures were recruited (2 coronoid, 3 radial head and 1 capitellum). The mean patient age and length of follow up was 54.6 years and 11 months respectively. All fractures healed, and none exhibited loss of reduction or complications requiring revision surgery. No patient developed synovitis of the elbow joint or suffered electrolytic reactions when titanium implants were used concurrently.

CONCLUSION

Although there is still a paucity of literature available on the subject and further studies are required, magnesium implants appear to be a feasible tool for fixation of peri-articular elbow fractures with promising results in our series.

Keywords: Magnesium screw, Fracture, Peri-articular, Elbow

Core Tip: Magnesium implants can be a useful tool in fixation of peri-articular elbow fractures with promising results.