Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) Injuries: Ligament Repair With Suture Augmentation Procedure Animation

Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) Injuries: Ligament Repair With Suture Augmentation Procedure Animation

This animation demonstrates a repair of the medial ulnar collateral ligament, or UCL, of the elbow to treat a UCL tear. In this demonstration, a large, flat suture will be used to provide additional support to the repaired ligament. The UCL connects the upper arm bone, or humerus, to the ulna, one of the two forearm bones.

Here we see a right elbow and forearm with the inside of the arm facing the screen. First, an incision will be made on the inside of the elbow. Soft tissue is carefully moved to expose the injured UCL on the inside aspect of the elbow. Next, a hole will be drilled into the ulna, and an anchor is inserted. This anchor is already threaded with sutures.

There are two sutures that will be used: the thinner blue suture, which will be used for the repair, and the larger striped suture, which will be used for extra support. The smaller blue suture is first used to sew the ligament back together with several stitches. A second hole is drilled into the upper arm bone at the other end of the ligament in preparation for another anchor.

The larger striped suture is loaded into the tip of the second anchor and held in place in the hole in the bone. The elbow will be moved to make sure that the support suture is not too tight or too loose. The second anchor is then inserted into the hole to secure the large, striped suture in the bone. Extra sutures are used to help keep the large support suture in place.

The extra suture is then cut off. The skin incision will then be closed and the elbow UCL repair is now complete.