Salter-Harris type V fracture
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
At the time the article was created Chris Rothe had no recorded disclosures.
View Chris Rothe's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Jeremy Jones had no recorded disclosures.
View Jeremy Jones's current disclosuresSalter-Harris type V fractures are very uncommon injuries that occur in children. These fractures involve a crush injury of the physis secondary to compressive forces that involve all or part of the physis 1,2. In general Salter-Harris fractures are childhood injuries where there is a fracture that involves the physis.
Salter-Harris V injuries often have a poor prognosis due primarily to disruption of the germinal matrix and associated vascular supply leading to potential bone growth arrest, altered joint mechanics and functional impairment. As such orthopaedic evaluation and subsequent operative intervention are often required 1,2.
Epidemiology
Less than 1% of physeal fractures will be a Salter-Harris type V fractures. They are rare and usually retrospectively identified.
Radiographic features
Almost all Salter-Harris type V fractures are occult on initial imaging. They are usually retrospectively identified during follow up when there is clinical deformity or radiographic evidence of growth arrest.
Plain radiograph
- often radiographically occult although narrowing of the physis may be noted
- these fractures are typically diagnosed retrospectively after structural deformity has begun to occur secondary to growth plate arrest 3
- adjacent soft tissue swelling and joint effusion may be noted
CT
- CT imaging can be incorporated to evaluate focal osseous bridging across the physis during the healing process (most common in Salter-Harris IV and V injuries) 3
References
- 1) Rykiel H. Levine, Lisa A. Foris, Trevor A. Nezwek, Muhammad Waseem. Salter Harris Fractures. (2019) Pubmed
- 2) Cepela DJ, Tartaglione JP, Dooley TP, Patel PN. Classifications In Brief: Salter-Harris Classification of Pediatric Physeal Fractures. (2016) Clinical orthopaedics and related research. 474 (11): 2531-2537. doi:10.1007/s11999-016-4891-3 - Pubmed
- 3) Jie C. Nguyen, B. Keegan Markhardt, Arnold C. Merrow, Jerry R. Dwek. Imaging of Pediatric Growth Plate Disturbances. (2017) RadioGraphics. 37 (6): 1791-1812. doi:10.1148/rg.2017170029 - Pubmed
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