Abstract
The original Kocher approach was published several times in the 1892-1907 period. It extends in the interval between the extensor carpi ulnaris and the anconeus and consists in subperiostal release of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), joint capsule and origin of extensors at the lateral epicondyle and their retraction anteriorly, and a similar release of the anconeus from the distal humerus and its reflection posteriorly.
This provides an extensive approach to the elbow. Today this approach is described in the textbooks in various modifications that have little in common with the original description except for the fact that dissection is made in the so called Kocher interval between the extensor carpi ulnaris and the anconeus.
Therefore it is often called a limited Kocher approach. The study describes our modification of the Kocher approach that we use primarily in fractures of the head and neck of the radius, in certain fractures of the distal humerus, and also in irreducible dislocations and certain fracture-dislocations of the elbow.