Operative Treatment of Olecranon Fractures

The incidence of olecranon fractures is 12 per 100.000. Traditionally, isolated olecranon fractures have been treated with tension band wiring (TBW). There is a trend towards increased use of plate fixation, though TBW has yielded good and comparable patient reported outcomes. The latter method is substantially cost-effective, but higher complication reports have been reported. There are only two randomized controlled trials comparing TBW and plate fixation, and the literature is inconclusive in which fixation method is preferable in the treatment of olecranon fractures. In this multi-center trial, adult patients (18-75 years) with isolated olecranon fractures will be randomized to either TBW or plate fixation.