[The effect of surgical exposure on the clinic outcomes of supracondylar humerus fractures in children].
BACKGROUND
The clinic outcomes of supracondylar humerus fractures in children treated with open reduction and internal fixation by using two different surgical exposures were studied.


METHODS
The clinic outcomes of seventeen and ten patients to whom lateral (LA) and posterior (PA) approaches were used respectively, were evaluated according to the Flynn's criteria. All fractures were extension type and classified as type II and III according to Gartland's classification. Left arm was broken in nineteen children and right arm in eight. The mean age was 8.5 years (range 3-13 years) and mean follow up was 19.4 months (range 8-50).


RESULTS
Four (23.52%) of the seventeen patients with LA and two (20%) of the ten patients with PA suffered from a loss in the range of motion (ROM) of the elbow more than 10 degrees (p>0.05). Mean operation time was 53.14+/-18.11 minutes in the patients used LA and 68.54+/-17.67 minutes in the patients with PA. Satisfactory results were obtained in thirteen of the seventeen patients (76.47%) in the group with LA and in eight of the ten patients (80%) in the group with PA.


CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded that in the open reduction of childhood supracondylar fractures of the humerus, LA and PA approaches without dividing triceps muscle do equally affect the ROM of the elbow. Although PA decreases the risk of ulnar nerve injury with Kirschner wire, it prolongs the operation time.
Bombaci
Hasan
H
1st Department of Orthopedics, Haydarpaşa Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. bombacih@hotmail.com
Gereli
Arel
A
Küçükyazici
Onder
O
Görgeç
Mücahit
M
Deniz
Gökmen
G
D000293:Adolescent; D001864:Bone Wires; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000379:methods*; D017102:Fracture Healing; D006801:Humans; D006810:Humeral Fractures / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome