Characteristics and recovery treatment of fractures in children

Children’s fractures have the following characteristics: 1. Children’s bones have strong strain-shaping ability and thick periosteum, and the periosteum often maintains continuity on one side after fracture, so there are fewer comminuted fractures and open fractures than adults.  2. Children’s bones have a strong natural repair and healing ability, and very few fractures do not heal. The majority of children’s fracture bone discontinuity occurs in the incision and reset, improper application of internal fixation, mostly medical complications.  3, children’s bones have a good shaping ability, even if the fracture can not be completely reset, within a certain range can be adjusted through growth and development to restore, will not affect the function.  Surgical repositioning may cause children to grow short legs The epiphyseal growth plate of children is a weak zone in bone mechanics, and its strength is significantly lower than the strength of the joint capsule and ligaments. Therefore, there are significantly more epiphyseal injuries than joint capsule ligament injuries in children. Epiphyseal injury is a problem unique to fractures in children. Therefore, incisional repositioning should be avoided as much as possible without affecting fracture healing and bone function. Only fractures involving joints and epiphyseal growth plates require more precise repositioning; or in cases where closed fracture repositioning has failed and the position is difficult to stabilize after repositioning, surgical incisional repositioning is required.  If a child’s epiphysis is nailed with a plate or easily surgically repositioned, as in the case of adult patients, the child’s bones will never grow again, resulting in a shortened limb, such as a long leg and a short leg, or an angular deformity of the bone joint, or a crooked bone, as the saying goes. The fracture is “shaped”.  Fracture “shaping” determines the functional recovery of children’s fracture repair takes a long time. Fracture healing in children is divided into three processes, namely the inflammatory phase, the repair phase and the shaping phase. The inflammatory and reparative phases are completed within 3 months, while the plastic phase takes 3 to 6 months or longer to complete.  Plastination of fractures is important for the recovery of bone function. Factors affecting fracture contouring include the patient’s age, the location of the fracture, and the direction of fracture angulation. The younger the patient, the closer the fracture is to the joint (the epiphysis of the bone), the better the ability to shape. In some fractures in children, even if there is a large displacement, bone function can eventually be restored if good plasticity is maintained.