Double Cerclage Wiring (DCW) of Displaced Stable Olecranon Fractures
Cornefjord Voigt, Gustav LU
; Kostogiannis, Ioannis
LU
; Rogmark, Cecilia
LU
and Wenger, Daniel
LU
(2026)
In Techniques in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery
30(2).
- Abstract
Several methods of surgically treating displaced, ulno-humerally stable olecranon fractures (Mayo type 2a and 2b) have been suggested. Cerclage wires have been used for at least a century to achieve fracture fixation but have been replaced by tension band wiring or plate fixation as the commonly recognized "gold standard" treatments. Thin soft tissues and migrating K-wires result in high complication rates following these 2 methods. We suggest double cerclage wiring as an alternative method that allows for the omission of K-wires. The method can be used for the same indications as tension band wiring: Mayo type 2a and 2b fractures. Two cerclages are placed, in figure-of-eight and figure-of-zero configurations, respectively, through... (More)
Several methods of surgically treating displaced, ulno-humerally stable olecranon fractures (Mayo type 2a and 2b) have been suggested. Cerclage wires have been used for at least a century to achieve fracture fixation but have been replaced by tension band wiring or plate fixation as the commonly recognized "gold standard" treatments. Thin soft tissues and migrating K-wires result in high complication rates following these 2 methods. We suggest double cerclage wiring as an alternative method that allows for the omission of K-wires. The method can be used for the same indications as tension band wiring: Mayo type 2a and 2b fractures. Two cerclages are placed, in figure-of-eight and figure-of-zero configurations, respectively, through separate drill holes distally and through the triceps tendon proximally. In a retrospective study, the reoperation rate and complication rate were twice as high following tension band wiring compared with double cerclage wiring (27% vs. 13% and 45% vs. 18%, respectively). An ongoing RCT will provide more robust evidence, but current studies indicate that double cerclage wiring is a safe and possibly superior alternative to tension band wiring.
(Less)
- author
- Cornefjord Voigt, Gustav
LU
; Kostogiannis, Ioannis
LU
; Rogmark, Cecilia
LU
and Wenger, Daniel
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-06
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- cerclage wiring, double cerclage wiring and cerclage compression wiring., olecranon fractures, tension band wiring
- in
- Techniques in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery
- volume
- 30
- issue
- 2
- publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:42090445
- scopus:105039825172
- ISSN
- 1089-3393
- DOI
- 10.1097/BTH.0000000000000557
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cc9bcc48-a4cb-4d7a-bfcb-7dfe25edbf6a
- date added to LUP
- 2026-07-03 14:22:03
- date last changed
- 2026-09-25 21:05:25
@article{cc9bcc48-a4cb-4d7a-bfcb-7dfe25edbf6a,
abstract = {{<p>Several methods of surgically treating displaced, ulno-humerally stable olecranon fractures (Mayo type 2a and 2b) have been suggested. Cerclage wires have been used for at least a century to achieve fracture fixation but have been replaced by tension band wiring or plate fixation as the commonly recognized "gold standard" treatments. Thin soft tissues and migrating K-wires result in high complication rates following these 2 methods. We suggest double cerclage wiring as an alternative method that allows for the omission of K-wires. The method can be used for the same indications as tension band wiring: Mayo type 2a and 2b fractures. Two cerclages are placed, in figure-of-eight and figure-of-zero configurations, respectively, through separate drill holes distally and through the triceps tendon proximally. In a retrospective study, the reoperation rate and complication rate were twice as high following tension band wiring compared with double cerclage wiring (27% vs. 13% and 45% vs. 18%, respectively). An ongoing RCT will provide more robust evidence, but current studies indicate that double cerclage wiring is a safe and possibly superior alternative to tension band wiring.</p>}},
author = {{Cornefjord Voigt, Gustav and Kostogiannis, Ioannis and Rogmark, Cecilia and Wenger, Daniel}},
issn = {{1089-3393}},
keywords = {{cerclage wiring; double cerclage wiring and cerclage compression wiring.; olecranon fractures; tension band wiring}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
publisher = {{Lippincott Williams & Wilkins}},
series = {{Techniques in Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery}},
title = {{Double Cerclage Wiring (DCW) of Displaced Stable Olecranon Fractures}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/BTH.0000000000000557}},
doi = {{10.1097/BTH.0000000000000557}},
volume = {{30}},
year = {{2026}},
}