[Early corrective osteotomy after secondary displaced distal radius fractures in children]

Secondary fracture displacement before osseous consolidation of distal radius fractures in children occasionally leads to restricted forearm rotation. So far, there is no consistent treatment recommendation to correct this complication. We report on 5 children with an age of 8-13 years (mean age 12.3 years, 4 boys, 1 girl) with secondary displaced distal radius fractures and high functional deficits in forearm rotation (mean ROM for pro-/supination 70-0-30°) after osseous consolidation. We performed corrective osteotomies of the distal radius using a palmar approach after a mean of 38 days. Stabilisation was achieved with a fixed-angle plate system. At the final follow-up examination (mean 9 months) the forearm rotation was normal. No complications were observed. We consider corrective osteotomies of the distal radius in children with deficits of forearm rotation to be a possible strategy. Early corrective osteotomies can lead to a predictable increase of function through reestablishing normal articulation.