Introduction: Fracture of lateral condyle of humerus is known for nonunion, if not treated properly in
children, often leads to a cubitus valgus deformity. For the late presenting cases with deformity and
restricted range of motion, surgical management is often challenging, and an appropriate preoperative
planning is required.
Case Report: We report a case of an un-united fracture of the lateral condyle of the humerus in an adult
with a cubitus valgus deformity with early tardy ulnar nerve palsy. He was treated by corrective osteotomy
with bone grafting of the nonunion and internal fixation with contoured plates. A virtual preoperative
surgical planning was done using 3D printing to define the exact location and direction of the osteotomy,
plate contouring and likely place of screw placement to achieve full correction of the elbow deformity.
Results: There was good correction of deformity, with union of the nonunion and osteotomy, at three
months follows- up. At one year, there was complete recovery of ulnar nerve palsy with excellent function
of the elbow and hand.
Conclusion: 3D printing is effective in treating complex orthopedic cases and deformity correction. Virtual
preoperative surgical planning on the computer and on a 3D model help to study the exact site of osteotomy,
plate contouring and screw placement to achieve accurate correction of the deformity. Virtual preoperative
planning and 3D printing help in reducing the surgical time and help to achieve desired correction of the
deformity.
Tardy ulnar nerve palsy following a neglected childhood lateral epicondyle fracture non-union and resultant cubitus valgus deformity
