ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study is compare the outcomes among three different approaches (lateral approach, medial approach and posterior approach) for supracondylar humerus fractures in children.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study

Place and Duration: The study was conducted at Orthopedics department of Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad for duration of one year from January 2020 to December 2020.

Methods: There were one hundred and thirty five children had supracondylar humerus fracture were presented. Patients were aged between 3-12 years. Informed written consent was taken from authorities for detailed demographics age, sex, cause of fracture and side of fracture. Patients were categorized into three equal groups, group A had 45 patients and received lateral approach, group B had 45 patients and received medial approach and group C received posterior approach with 45 cases. Shaft Condylar Angle (SCA) and Baumann angle were used to analyze the radiological result. All children were assessed using Flynn's criteria for functional outcomes, and the results were divided into Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor. Post-operative outcomes among all the three groups were calculated and compared. SPSS 23.0 version was used to analyze complete data.

Results: There were 90 (66.7%) males (30 in each group and 45 (33.3%) females (15 in each group). In group A mean age was 6.88±5.45 years, mean age in group B was 7.11±5.33 years and in group C mean age was 7.17±5.66 years. Sports 85 (62.9%) was the most common cause of fracture followed by traffic accidents 30 (22.2%) and the rest were 20 (14.8%) fall from the height. According to radiological outcomes, Mean shaft condylar Angle in group A was 41.5±6.3, in group B was 41.8±1.9 and in group C was 40.1±3.8 respectively (P>0.05). Mean Bauman angle in group A was 18.8±6.11, group B was 19.4±7.5 and in group C 20.4±5.3 with (P>0.05). According to Flynn’s criteria, excellent outcomes were observed in 33 (73.3%) in LA group, 24 (53.3%) in MA group and 22 (48.9%) in PA group, good results were observed in 11(24.4%), 19 (42.2%) and 21 (46.7%), fair outcomes in 1 (2.2%), 2 (4.4%) and 2 (4.4%).

Conclusion: As a result of this research, we have concluded that the lateral technique for supracondylar fractures is superior to the medial or posterior approaches in terms of radiological and functional results. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups.