Treatment of Displaced Supracondylar Fracture of Humerus in Children by Lateral Entry Pinning versus Cross Pinning

Introduction: Displaced supracondylar fractures of humerus are one of the most common fractures in pediatric age group with preferred treatment being close reduction with percutaneous K-wire fi xation. This study compares whether lateral pin construct alone can provide same stability like cross (medial and lateral) pin fi xation, and prevent iatrogenic ulnar nerve injury. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 30 cases of supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children in which 15 were of lateral and 15 of cross pinning group from January 2014 to June 2015 with minimum 4 months follow-up period. Mean age was 7.3 years for both lateral and cross pinning group. We studied the surgical complications in both groups and also compared functional and radiological result of both groups. Results: Patients were assessed by Flynn’s criteria. Results were excellent in 66.7% and good in 33.3% of cross pinning group and for lateral pinning group, excellent in 73.3% and good in 26.6% cases which were not statistically signifi cant (P = 0.69). Conclusion: With the use of the specifi c techniques employed in this study, both lateral entry pin fi xation and medial and lateral entry pin fi xation are effective in the treatment of completely displaced (type III) extension supracondylar fractures of the humerus in children.