Early versus delayed treatment of lateral condylar fracture of the humerus with > 2 mm displacement in children: a retrospective study

Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research

Research Article

Rongxuan Gao¹  Biao Wang²  Zhenwei Li²  Zejuan Ji²  Weili Li²  Zhanhao Guo²  Keming Sun² 

[1] Department of Orthopaedics, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing, China;Department of Orthopaedics, Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children’s Hospital, Zhengzhou Children’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China;

关键词: Lateral condylar fracture;    Humerus;    Delayed surgery;    Incision length;    Pediatric;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13018-023-03619-6

 received in 2022-12-17, accepted in 2023-02-15,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and functional outcomes of early versus delayed treatment of pediatric lateral condylar fractures of the humerus with a displacement greater than 2 mm.MethodsSixty-seven children treated surgically at our hospital from March 2016 to September 2021 for lateral condylar fracture of the humerus with displacement > 2 mm were retrospectively analyzed. The children were divided into two groups where early surgery consisted of patients being operated on within 24-h post-injury (n = 36) and delayed surgery consisted of children operated after 24-h post-injury (n = 31). Clinical and functional results were compared between the two groups.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of operation time, blood loss and incidences of perioperative complications. However, mean length of incision was significantly greater (P < 0.0001) in the delayed treatment group (5.68 ± 1.08 cm) compared to the early treatment group (3.89 ± 0.82 cm). No differences were found in functional outcomes, consisting of the Baumann angle of the affected limb, the carrying angle, Mayo Elbow Performance Score, and Flynn’s criteria at final follow-up.ConclusionsDelay in surgery for more than 24 h after injury does not influence the clinical and functional results for lateral condylar fracture of the humerus with displacement > 2 mm in children. However, delayed open reduction and pinning may increase the incision length possibly due to increased edema.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023