Surgical Management of Recent Traumatic Epiphyseal Fractures-Detachments of the Distal Femur at Gabriel Touré University Hospital

Abstract

Traumatic epiphyseal detachment fractures of the distal end of the femur are a rare lesion whose severity is linked to disabling sequelae such as limb length inequality or most often axial deviation. In this report, surgical treatment aims to reconstruct the anatomy of the distal femur, to avoid secondary displacements and to allow early mobilization of the knee. Surgery carried out mainly by the technique of plugging in or screwing, open ed or better still closed, can be a source of complications including migration of pins, infections, knee stiffness, and growth disorders. The aim of this work was to describe their epidemiological, anatomo-clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects in the Department of Orthopedics-Traumatology at the CHU Gabriel TOURE. It was a retrospective study over 30 months from July 2019 to December 2021. In fact, it concerned 42 patients with traumatic epiphyseal detachment of the distal femur occurring within 21 days or less, on a healthy knee with cartilage fertile treated surgically and followed in the department. However, the diagnosis of traumatic epiphyseal detachment of the distal femur was retained thanks to the clinical examination and supplemented by radiographic images of the knee from the front and from the side. The treatment was surgical. The functional results were evaluated according to the functional criteria of the Eastern Orthopedic Traumatology Society (SOTEST). Forty-two patients includ ed 32 boys and 10 girls of average age of 12 years with extremes of 8 years and 16 years. The lesions were classified according to the Salter Harris classification. We noted 24% type I (n = 10), type II 71% (n = 30), type III 2% (n = 1), type IV 2% (n = 1). Union was achieved in all patients within an average of 6 weeks with extremes of 4 and 12 weeks. The functional result was considered good in 20% of cases and very good in 80%. Traumatic epiphyseal detachment fractures of the distal end of the femur are a rare lesion whose severity is linked to disabling sequelae such as limb length inequality or most often axial deviation. Surgical treatment aims to reconstruct the anatomy of the distal femur, to avoid secondary displacements and to allow early mobilization of the knee.