Early posttraumatic physeal arrest in distal radius after a compression injury

Early posttraumatic arrest of the distal radial physis is an uncommon complication and usually appears after type II physeal injury. We report a 13-year-old boy who sustained an injury to his right wrist, incurring an avulsion fracture of ulnar styloid process. Twenty-one months later, a uniform closure of the distal radial physis was observed. An ulnar shortening osteotomy and distal ulnar epiphysiodesis were performed. We discuss different factors of this complication, but crush injury of germinal cells of the growthplate is considered the main etiology.