[Surgical treatment of supracondylar fractures in pediatric patients using AO external lateral fixation technique]

Fractures of the distal humerus represent 70% of fractures in children under 12 years. It is necessary to have knowledge about this type of injury, the therapeutic alternatives, and the possible complications.

To assess the functional results of the AO fixation technique in the management of humeral supracondylar fractures in pediatric patients.

Patients admitted to the pediatric orthopedics service were surgically treated by external fixation AO method, from July 1 to December 31, 2018. The data were obtained by monitoring from admission of patients until discharge from the outpatient clinic performing the functional clinical evaluation using the Mayo Elbow Performance Score to evaluate the function of the elbow.

We included 5 patients with humeral supracondylar fracture treated by external fixation AO method, with an average age of 6 years. Of the 5 cases, 3 (60%) suffered the right upper limb injury and 2 (40%) the upper left limb, 1 patient (20%) had partial radial nerve injury. The score obtained on the Mayo Elbow Performance Score was 80 points on average.

The functional result of the treatment of humeral supracondylar fractures by means of AO external fixation technique, shows good results, positioning it as an alternative therapeutic treatment option.