Supracondylar fracture of the humerus with ipsilateral fracture of the scaphoid in a child.

An 1 1 year old boy fell off a swing onto an outstretched left hand. He attended the accident and emergency department with a painful, swollen left elbow. Radiography of the injured elbow confirmed the undisplaced supracondylar fracture (fig 1). He was treated with a broad arm sling. A week later the child was seen in the fracture clinic and overall evaluation revealed tenderness over the left scaphoid. Radiography of the wrist confirmed fracture of the waist of the scaphoid (fig 2). He was treated in an above elbow scaphoid cast for three weeks followed by short arm scaphoid cast for another three weeks. W'hen evaluated at four months, both fractures united with an excellent functional result. Characteristically, supracondylar fracture of the humerus is seen in the first decade of life while fracture of the scaphoid is a rare injury in children due to a relatively thick layer of cartilage surrounding carpal bones.' Supracondylar fractures are often isolated injuries, but they can be associated with ipsilateral fractures particularly of the midshaft and distal forearms.' Carpal injuries in association with other ipsilateral fractures have been rarely Xf