[Medial epicondyle fractures in children].

Introduction: Medial epicondylar fractures account for 11% of elbow injuries in children. It represents a Salter-Harris type I lesion. Diagnosis is difficult but on the whole, results are satisfactory. The treatment of this fracture is controversial.

Patients And Methods: Our study looked at fifty-nine patients between 7 and 14 years old. The main mechanism of injury in our study was a fall (98%). The significance of the fracture displacement was judged according to the classification of Marion and Faysse. We noted 10 cases of stage II, 14 cases of stage III and 35 cases of stage IV according to their classification. Forty-one patients were treated by surgical fixation. Fifty patients were reviewed at an average of six years follow up and the results evaluated according to the criteria of Hardacre.

Results: The result was good in 95% of those cases with conservative treatment and in 80% of those cases with operative treatment. Prominence of the medial epicondyle and limitation of elbow motion were the main complications.

Discussion: According the literature, a sports accident is the most frequent cause of the injury. The results are better with conservative treatment because there is no relation between fracture displacement and final results. The excellent results of conservative treatment permit us to recommend this method except in those cases with a persistent intra-articular fragment or neurovascular complication.