The operation is performed in the supine position with the upper arm in a blood-reducing cuff. The arm, washed as far as the shoulder, has only the elbow exposed.
In addition to the cable instruments, we use small Hohmann retractors and two small pointed repositioning forceps.
The slightly curved incision begins three finger-breadths above the epicondylus ulnaris and extends to the level of the joint gap. Directly on the lateral side of the bone the fascia is separated and the fracture exposed. In extra-articular avulsions the joint remains closed; in intra-articular fractures it is opened, lavaged, aspirated, and inspected (Fig. 108).