Results of gartland type-iii supracondylar fracture humerus with open reduction and internal fixation in children after failed closed reduction

Supracondylar fracture of humerus is the second most common fracture in children which account for 60–75% of all fractures around the elbow. There are various treatment modalities for type-III fracture, i.e., closed reduction and casting, skeletal traction, close reduction and percutaneous pinning and open reduction and internal fixation. This study was conducted to see the outcome of open reduction and internal fixation after failed closed reduction.
Methods: This study was conducted in the Orthopaedics Departments of G.M.C. Jammu on 30 children from June 2013 to June 2015. Patients included were of either gender with age range from 4–12 years with displaced supracondylar fracture (type-III) after failed closed reduction. All fractures were fixed with K-wires by open reduction and internal fixation by lateral approach. The patients were assessed both clinically and radiologically and results were tabulated according to Flynn criteria. Results: Twenty-eight patients had excellent results while two had good results according to Flynn criteria. None of the patients had either fair or poor result.
Conclusion: Open reduction and internal fixation is a good and reliable method after failed closed reduction and gives stable fixation with anatomical alignment.