Hunter Firment , 2025-04-28 19:03:00
April 28, 2025
1 min read
Key takeaways:
- Patients with severe heterotopic ossification around the elbow that caused ankylosis benefited from surgical excision.
- At least 75% of patients maintained at least 100° range of motion at 2-year follow-up.
SAN DIEGO — Results showed surgical excision paired with optimized rehabilitation for the treatment of complete elbow ankylosis due to elbow heterotopic ossification may lead to improved long-term outcomes.
“These findings reinforce the importance of excision in restoring function,” Krishin S. Shivdasani, MD, MPH, orthopedic surgery resident at Loyola Medicine, said in his presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.
Shivdasani, Dane H. Salazar, MD, and colleagues retrospectively reviewed data from 13 patients (16 elbows) who exhibited complete ankylosis at the time of surgery after undergoing operative resection for heterotopic ossification around the elbow.
Krishin S. Shivdasani
Dane H. Salazar
Variables measured included intraoperative range of motion and range of motion, VAS pain scores and Mayo Elbow Performance Scores at long-term follow-up.
According to Salazar, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Loyola Medicine, patients with severe heterotopic ossification around the elbow that caused ankylosis benefited from surgical excision. He said at least 75% of patients maintained at least 100° range of motion at 2-year follow-up.
He said ulnar nerve management is “exceptionally important” in this patient population.
Shivdasani also said there were low postoperative VAS pain scores, and that Mayo Elbow Performance Scores indicated good to excellent function.
“These patients require a multimodal approach that is resource heavy,” Salazar said. “I highly recommend them to go to centers that take care of high-volume elbow pathology.”
He added, “What we need to do is to establish whether or not surgery is as effective with a different postoperative rehabilitation protocol. And that answer we do not know.”
For more information:
Dane H. Salazar, MD, wishes to be contacted through Allison Peters at allison.peters@luhs.org.
Sources/Disclosures
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Shivdasani KS, et al. Paper 391. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 10-14, 2025; San Diego.
Disclosures:
Salazar and Shivdasani report no relevant financial disclosures.
