Monteggia Type I equivalent lesion; an orthopedic pitfall in the Emergency Department

Abstract

The Monteggia fracture-dislocation is defined as the fracture of the proximal ulna accompanied with dislocation of radial head and classified in four major types and various equivalent lesions. Anterior dislocation of radial head concomitant with plastic deformation of ulna is defined ad Monteggia type 1 equivalent lesion. These injuries can be missed at initial presentation if a careful physical examination together with a prompt radiologic assesment is not performed. In this report, we present a case with Monteggia type I equivalent lesion with ipsilaeral distal humerus fracture, and discuss its clinical and radiologic chacteristics to avoid misdiagnosis in the ED.