Radial head fractures are pretty common in clinics. Arthroscopic treatment of elbow joint trauma and complications has been widely used in clinical applications. Due to the occlusion of the annular ligament, the limitation of nail placement angle, and the risk of radial nerve injury, arthroscopic treatment of fracture of the radial head has not been widely carried out. There are few studies on comparison between arthroscopic and open reduction internal fixation for fracture of the radial head, especially for MasonⅢfracture of the radial head treated by arthroscopy.

To compare the effect of arthroscopy and open reduction internal fixation in treating radial head fractures.

A retrospective analysis was performed on cases of Mason type II and type III radial head fractures aged from 18 to 65 with arthroscopic or open reduction internal fixation of radial head fractures in one trauma center from January 2020 to January 2022. The patients' age, gender, Mason classification, operation time, fluoroscopy times, follow-up time, and postoperative functional outcomes (including pain, range of motion, and MEPS score) were recorded.

A total of 34 patients were included in the study, including 11 patients in the arthroscopy group and 23 in the open reduction internal fixation group. The operation time of patients in the arthroscopy group was significantly longer than that in the open reduction group, and the pain (VAS score) , range of motion, and Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS) score were significantly better than those in the open reduction group in the short-term survey. The two groups did not differ between the long-term VAS score and functional score.

Arthroscopy and open surgery can achieve good results in treating radial head fractures. Besides, arthroscopy has the advantages of less trauma, smaller incision, and faster rehabilitation in treating radial head fractures.