Triceps tendon avulsion with or without fracture of the radial head--a rare injury?

The rarity of triceps tendon avulsion is called into question by our series of 6 cases collected over a 5-year period in a small, isolated Israeli community. The even rarer occurrence of triceps avulsion accompanying fractures of the radial head is more obviously contradicted by the 3 or 4 instances of such combined injuries in our series. Awareness that a fall on the outstretched arm, with or without fracture of the radial head, is sufficient cause of the triceps avulsion or tear ought to increase the frequency of the diagnosis. Just as fractures of the proximal ulna oblige the clinician to look for dislocations of the radial head (Monteggia or Hume fractures) (6), so must falls on the outstretched arm bring to mind the possibility of triceps tendon tears. Seemingly trivial findings then become significant, and the clinical entity thus crystallizes into the diagnostic syndrome.