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Complications of Supracondylar Fractures. Vascular Injury Forearm compartment syndrome resulting in Volkmann’s ischemic conracture Nerve Injury Cubitus varus deformity. Complications : Vascular Injury. Absence of radial pulse (10-20 %) Most common with Type II and II SFs
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Complications of Supracondylar Fractures • Vascular Injury • Forearm compartment syndrome resulting in Volkmann’s ischemic conracture • Nerve Injury • Cubitusvarus deformity
Complications: Vascular Injury • Absence of radial pulse (10-20 %) • Most common with Type II and II SFs • Brachial artery – most freq. injured in posterolaterally displaced fractures
Complications: Volkmann Ischemic Contracture • Vascular injury and swelling lead to the dev’t of compartment syndrome (w/in 12-24 hours) • Ischemia and Infarction can progress to Volkmann’s Ischemic Fracture • Fixed flexion of the elbow • Pronation of the forearm • Flexion of at the wrist • Joint extension of the MTC-Phalangeal Joint
Complications: Neurologic Deficit • Freq. 10-20 %, and increases with Type III SFs to 49% • Median Nerve Injury – Posterolateral distal fracture fragment displacement w/ medial mov’t of the proximal fx fragment • Radial Nerve Injury – Lateral proximal fracture fragment displacement • Ulnar nerve Injury – Flexion type supracondylar fractures
Complications: CubitusVarus Deformity • Angular deformity or ‘gunstock’ deformtiy – long term complication • Remodeling and correction of fracture angulation is limited for children with SFs
Prognosis of Patients with SFs • Long term outcome and function • very good if the fracture is appropriately diagnosed and treated • Many of the associated complications • Self-limited • Amenable to functional repair w/ surgical intervention