[Treatment of juvenile fractures: general introduction (author's transl)]

As fractures sustained during childhood are "different", the treatment for them is also different than that for fractures in adults. In general the treatment is conservative. A childhood fracture has in its favor the enormous potential of the growing skeleton for healing and correction, while against it is the possibility of impaired growth following certain injuries in growth areas. There are quite specific indications for operative treatment; in other words, some fractures require internal fixation, e.g. genuine epiphyseal fracture, fracture of the neck of the femur, displacement of the head of the radius.