This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Similar complications seen with exposed vs. buried K-wires for pediatric fractures
Chan LMW. J Child Orthop. 2011. doi: 10.1007/s11832-011-0358-y
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Lateral condyle fractures in pediatric patients can be treated safely and effectively through open reduction and fixation with either exposed or buried wiring, according to this study from researchers in Singapore.
The team performed a retrospective cohort study on 75 children with lateral condyle fractures of the humerus who underwent surgery in their department.
Forty-two patients were treated with open reduction and fixation with smooth Kirschner wires that were buried subcutaneously. The other 33 patients had wires that were passed through the skin and left exposed. The researchers found no significant complications in either group, adding that they identified one superficial wound infection and two pin tract hypergranulation cases in the exposed wire group.
Deep infection, loss of reduction or any complication warranting an additional procedure were not present in any of the patients studied, the authors reported.
“[We] recommend a period of 4 weeks of K-wire fixation followed by 2 weeks of backslab immobilization as adequate for union with minimal risk of infection,” they wrote.