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| Year : 1996 | Volume
: 30
| Issue : 1 | Page : 155-158 |
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Diaphyseal Femoral Fractures In Children? Should We Change The Present Mode Of Treatment
Ibrahim Al-Habdan
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Correspondence Address:
Ibrahim Al-Habdan
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Two - hundred and thirty - six diaphyseal fractures of the femur in 230 children were studied retrospectively. There were 138 boys and 92 girls with a mean age of 5.59 years (1 month to 14 years). Majority of the children were below the age of 6 years. In 67.8% of children the cause of fracture was due to a road traffic accident. Forty-one of the children had associated injuries. The minimum hospital stay was 15 days and the maximum 62 days (mean 32.6 days). The commonest site of fracture was at middle third (N=159) and N=109 were transverse type. The mode of treatment was Balanced skin traction in 146, Skeletal traction in 72, Hip spica in 9, internal fixation in 6 and external fixators in 3. The average follow up was 6.8 years. Complications were few. Our experience indicates that with conservative mode of treatment there is no risk of overgrowth and rotational malalignment upto 20 corrects during growth. We believe that diaphyseal fractures of the femur in children can be safely managed non-operatively and economically, contrary to the present advocacy of operative treatment. |
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