Pitfalls and countermeasures in the diagnosis and treatment of the radiographic appearance seemed harmless fracture of elbow in younger children / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

The elbow is one of the most common fracture sites in children who have variable secondary ossification centers and special anatomical structures of growth plates. Considering that children of different ages have different secondary ossification centers at different times and different X-ray manifestations, their treatment principles are quite different from those of adults. Because the secondary ossification center does not appear in younger children, the anatomical alignment and linear relationship of elbow joint is unclear after minimally displaced fracture of the lateral humeral condyle, medial humeral condyle fracture, transphyseal separation of the radial neck, transphyseal separation of the distal humerus and Monteggia fracture. Therefore, this type of fracture is not easily diagnosed with X-ray film alone, which is called the radiographic appearance seemed harmless (TRASH) fracture, and can easily lead to delayed fractures, elbow joint deformity and other sequelae. Therefore, the author discusses the pitfalls and corresponding strategies in the diagnosis and treatment of TRASH fracture of elbow in younger children, so as to provide references for the diagnosis and treatment of TRASH fracture of elbow.