Paediatric Ankle Fractures: Guidelines to Management.

Introduction: Paediatric ankle fractures represents about 5% of all paediatric fractures. It is the most common physis to be injured in the lower limb accounting to approximately 15-20% of all physeal injuries. This article reviews the literature on this common injury which still has many controversial areas and gives guidelines to management based on the existing evidence along with clinical experience gained from a Level I trauma center.

Classification: The original Salter-Harris Classification with the additional types is a good system to guide on the management. The transitional fractures form a separate group with technically two broad types-biplane and triplane injuries. Though there are many sub-types in this group with some popular eponymous fractures, the treatment principles remain the same.

Management: A very low threshold for CT scan is recommended when there is a clinical suspicion of fracture with a negative radiograph or an intra-articular fracture in the radiograph especially in the adolescent age group. CT scan helps in accurate quantification of the intra-articular displacement and also helps to comprehend the fracture geometry better. All the intra-articular fractures with displacement > 2 mm need perfect anatomical reduction and stabilization. Assisted closed reduction and percutaneous fixation along with arthrogram to confirm articular congruity is acceptable as long as the reduction is perfect. Irrespective of the method of treatment, in children with more than 2 years of growth remaining it is important to counsel regarding the high incidence of pre-mature physeal closure and the need for regular follow-up.