Mohamad Nazrin RADZUAN, Mohd Afiq Muhamed FUAD, Ashraf Hakim AB HALIM
Medical Science and Discovery - 2026;13(9):311-318
Objective: Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a recognised complication of elbow trauma and its surgical treatment and is classically associated with pain, stiffness, and functional impairment. Case report : We report a 44-year-old right-hand-dominant male computer technician who sustained an isolated, closed, comminuted and displaced fracture of the right radial head involving approximately 40% of the articular surface (Mason type II by the Broberg-Morrey modification) after a fall on an outstretched hand. He underwent open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with a plate, with suture-anchor repair of the annular ligament, 16 days after injury. No HO prophylaxis was given. Radiographs at 6 weeks postoperatively showed peri-articular HO with anterior subluxation of the radial head; repeat radiographs at 18 weeks showed a united fracture, intact implants, and no radiographic progression of the HO or subluxation over that interval. At the latest clinical review, 11 months after surgery, the patient had a flexion-extension arc of 10 derece-110 derece, full supination, and pronation to 70 derece, was pain-free, and reported no limitation in his activities of daily living or in his occupation. Conclusion: Although the arc falls short of the traditional 30 derece-130 derece functional range in terminal flexion, the patient-reported function was satisfactory. This case illustrates that radiographic HO with radial head subluxation does not necessarily translate into clinically significant dysfunction, and it supports symptom- and function-led observation in a selected, well-informed patient, within the limits of the documented follow-up.
