J Korean Fract Soc.  1998 Oct;11(4):970-976.

The Comparative Sturdy of Treatment between the Skeletal Traction and the Operation of the Supracondylar Fracture in Children

• Chung ES
• Lee YK
• Lee BH

Abstract

The most common fracture about the elbow joint in children is supracondylar fracture. That treatment has many fitsfalls and had writtened about its method and the prevention of serious complication such as Volkmann ischemic contractre and cubitus varus deformity. the authors analyzed the follow-up results of 58 cases of supracondylar fractures treated by skeletal traction, percutaneous pinning and open reductionin Persbyterian Medical Center from March 1992 to November 1996. The average follow-up was 20 months(12-54 months). The results were as follows. 1. The mean age was 7.8 years, ranged from 1 year to 15 years, and the male and the female ratio was 1.9:1. 2. Seventeen cases were treated with skeletal traction group, thirty cases with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning group, eleven cases with open reduction and internal fixation group. 3. The average duration of admission in skeletal traction group was 23.5 days, 5.2 days in percutaneous pinning group and 14.7 days in open reduction and internal fixation group. 4. The ration of hospital cost to that in the skeletal group were 0.85+/-0.18 in the percutneous pinning group, and 1.43+/-0.21 in the open reduction and internal fixation group. 5. According to the Mitchell and Adams' criteria, the results of skeletal tracion group were excellent in 58.8%, good in 35.3% and poor in 5.9%; the results of percutaneous pinning group were excellent in 60%, good in 36.7% and poor in 3.3% ; and those of open reduction group were excellent in 54.5%, good in 27.3% and poor in 18.2%, respectively, on mean follow-up of 1 year and 8 month. So, our result indicated that the closed reducion and percutaneous pinning is a simple and cost-effective method for treatment of supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children, but some instances, the skeletal traction might be another treatment method in supracondylar fractures.

Keyword

Humerus; Supracondylar Fractrue in Children; Skeletal traction; Percutaneous pinning; Open reduction

MeSH Terms

Child*
Congenital Abnormalities
Elbow Joint
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hospital Costs
Humans
Humerus
Male
Traction*