The Munich Elbow Soft Tissue (MEST) classification—a magnetic resonance imaging-based treatment algorithm for simple elbow dislocations

Lucca Lacheta; Romed P. Vieider; Marie Kluge; Pavel Kadantsev; Sebastian Siebenlist

doi:10.1007/s11678-025-00856-5

The Munich Elbow Soft Tissue (MEST) classification—a magnetic resonance imaging-based treatment algorithm for simple elbow dislocations

Lucca Lacheta, Romed P. Vieider, Marie Kluge, Pavel Kadantsev, Sebastian Siebenlist

Associate Professorship of Sports Orthopaedy

Technical University of Munich

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The current literature compares very heterogeneous injury patterns in simple elbow dislocations and sometimes makes no distinction in the severity of soft tissue injuries (especially ligamentous versus musculoligamentous ruptures); thus, there is clearly a need for a simple and comprehensive classification system. The Munich Elbow Soft Tissue (MEST) classification is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based classification system for acute simple elbow dislocations that distinguishes two grades of severity— (1) isolated ligamentous injuries and (2) musculoligamentous injuries (complete disruption of ligaments and muscles)—with three subtypes each, based on the main pathology in relation to its location (lateral, medial, or bilateral). Furthermore, treatment recommendations are derived from this grading system.

Translated title of the contribution	Die Munich-Elbow-Soft-Tissue(MEST)-Klassifikation – ein magnetresonanztomographiebasierter Behandlungsalgorithmus für einfache Ellenbogenluxationen
Original language	English
Journal	Obere Extremitat
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11678-025-00856-5
State	Accepted/In press - 2025

Keywords

Acute
Elbow instability
Elbow luxation
Soft tissue injuries
Treatment strategies

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10.1007/s11678-025-00856-5

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abstract = "The current literature compares very heterogeneous injury patterns in simple elbow dislocations and sometimes makes no distinction in the severity of soft tissue injuries (especially ligamentous versus musculoligamentous ruptures); thus, there is clearly a need for a simple and comprehensive classification system. The Munich Elbow Soft Tissue (MEST) classification is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based classification system for acute simple elbow dislocations that distinguishes two grades of severity— (1) isolated ligamentous injuries and (2) musculoligamentous injuries (complete disruption of ligaments and muscles)—with three subtypes each, based on the main pathology in relation to its location (lateral, medial, or bilateral). Furthermore, treatment recommendations are derived from this grading system.",

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AU - Kluge, Marie

AU - Kadantsev, Pavel

AU - Siebenlist, Sebastian

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AB - The current literature compares very heterogeneous injury patterns in simple elbow dislocations and sometimes makes no distinction in the severity of soft tissue injuries (especially ligamentous versus musculoligamentous ruptures); thus, there is clearly a need for a simple and comprehensive classification system. The Munich Elbow Soft Tissue (MEST) classification is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based classification system for acute simple elbow dislocations that distinguishes two grades of severity— (1) isolated ligamentous injuries and (2) musculoligamentous injuries (complete disruption of ligaments and muscles)—with three subtypes each, based on the main pathology in relation to its location (lateral, medial, or bilateral). Furthermore, treatment recommendations are derived from this grading system.

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The Munich Elbow Soft Tissue (MEST) classification—a magnetic resonance imaging-based treatment algorithm for simple elbow dislocations

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Keywords

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