Of 48 consecutive children with Gartland III supracondylar fractures, 11 (23%) had evidence of vascular injury, with an absent radial pulse. The hand was pink and warm in eight and white and cold in the other three patients. They underwent colour-coded duplex scanning (CCDS) and ultrasound velocimetry (UV) to investigate the patency of the brachial artery and arterial blood flow. In seven patients with a pink pulseless hand, CCDS showed a displaced, kinked and spastic brachial artery and a thrombosis was present in the other. In all cases UV showed reduced blood flow in the hand. In three patients with a white pulseless hand, scanning demonstrated a laceration in the brachial artery and/or thrombosis. In all cases, the fracture was reduced under general anaesthesia and fixed with Kirschner wires. Of the seven patients with a pink pulseless hand without thrombosis, the radial pulse returned after reduction in four cases. The remaining three underwent exploration, along with the patients with laceration in the brachial artery and/or thrombosis.

We believe that the traditional strategy of watchful waiting in children in whom the radial pulse remains absent in spite of good peripheral perfusion should be revisited. Vascular investigation using these non-invasive techniques that are quick and reliable is recommended in the management of these patients.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:694–98.

Intra-operative complications vary from extremely benign such as glenoid vault penetration to life and limb threatening for example brachial artery injury. Most intra-operative complications can be avoided with careful pre-operative planning, anticipation, and execution. However, even the best planning and execution including fluoroscopic guided reaming cannot prevent all complications. The following intra-operative complications will be discussed in detail in regards to both prevention and management: Glenoid vault penetration, Glenoid component malposition - reverse and primary, Glenoid fracture - reverse and primary, Humeral component malposition - reverse and primary, and Humeral fracture - reverse and primary

Thirty-four acute traumatic dislocations in children aged 5 to 13 years, treated between 1994 and 2002, were reviewed retrospectively. All injuries were caused by a fall. Two injuries were compound. Two children had ulnar nerve injuries, one a radial nerve injury, and one median nerve and brachial artery injury. Posterolateral dislocations were seen in 22 children, posteromedial in eight, posterior in one, anteromedial in two and anterolateral in one. Pure dislocations occurred in eight children and 26 had associated elbow injuries, including 11 medial epicondyle, five lateral mass, one olecranon, one radial head and eight combined injuries. In the combined group, six children had associated fractures and two had divergent dislocation of the proximal radio-ulnar joint. Twenty required open reduction. The injury was initially missed in eight. The child with vascular and median nerve injury had not recovered by four months. Among the others, at follow-up of 4 to 48 months 22 results were excellent to good, 10 fair and one poor. Complications included pseudarthrosis of the medial epicondyle in one child and loss of flexion and rotation of 10° to 30° in 15. Radial and ulnar nerve injuries recovered. A high index of suspicion, good clinical examination and compared radiographs are recommended to avoid missed injuries

We analysed the functional outcome of 27 humeral shaft fractures treated non-operatively in our unit between 1999 and 2000. The mean age of the 20 men and seven women was 37.9 years (20 to 65). Ten fractures occurred in motor vehicle accidents, eight in falls and three in assaults. The remaining six were gunshot injuries. There were 18 closed fractures and nine grade-I compound fractures. Nine fractures were oblique, eight transverse, eight comminuted and two spiral. There was radial nerve palsy in 12 patients, and one poly-trauma patient had a concomitant brachial artery injury. All patients were treated initially by closed reduction and U-slab immobilisation. Radiological union was achieved in 12 patients (44.4%) at a mean of 11 weeks. Fixation by compression plating was necessary in 51.9%, treating delayed union in eight patients, radial nerve palsy in three, nonunion in one, a brachial plexus injury in one and polytrauma in one. One patient (3,7%) developed a pseudarthrosis and refused surgery. We assessed pain, range of movement of adjacent joints, ability to perform activities of daily living and work. In patients treated by U-slab immobilisation, the mean time to full functional recovery was 18 weeks. Those who underwent surgery achieved full functional recovery a mean of eight weeks later. Transverse and short oblique fractures are prone to delayed union and we recommend they be treated by primary internal fixation

Displaced extension supracondylar fractures of the elbow 1. One hundred and ten children were treated by reduction and stabilisation by two pins inserted laterally at an angle of 30 degrees to one another. 2. The complications before and after treatment included fifteen nerve lesions in thirteen patients. The ulnar nerve was involved on one occasion only. Solitary radial nerve injuries occurred with postero-medial displacement of the distal fragment, while median nerve and brachial artery injuries were associated with postero-lateral displacement. All the lesions recovered spontaneously. 3. There were no ischaemic complications after treatment, despite the ligation of one ruptured brachial artery. 4. The average stay in hospital was four days, compared with twenty days for thirty-two other patients treated in traction because of gross oedema. 5. Of eighty patients seen six months to five years after the fracture, seventy (or 87·5 per cent) had excellent or good results, seven patients with marked varus deformities had fair results, and two patients had poor results with very stiff elbows. Displaced flexion fractures 1. The clinical features, complications and treatment of seventeen cases are described. 2. There were no complications involving the median or radial nerves or the brachial artery, but three patients had a lesion of the ulnar nerve. 3. Nine children had closed reduction and fixation by two lateral percutaneous pins. 4. Reduction was difficult and the results poor compared with extension fractures. Closed reduction failed in one-third of the children, and the functional and cosmetic results were unsatisfactory in over half the patients reviewed

The aim of this retrospective multicentre study was to report the continued occurrence of compartment syndrome secondary to paediatric supracondylar humeral fractures in the period 1995 to 2005. The inclusion criteria were children with a closed, low-energy supracondylar fracture with no associated fractures or vascular compromise, who subsequently developed compartment syndrome. There were 11 patients (seven girls and four boys) identified from eight hospitals in three countries. Ten patients with severe elbow swelling documented at presentation had a mean delay before surgery of 22 hours (6 to 64). One patient without severe swelling documented at presentation suffered arterial entrapment following reduction, with a subsequent compartment syndrome requiring fasciotomy 25 hours after the index procedure.

This series is noteworthy, as all patients had low-energy injuries and presented with an intact radial pulse. Significant swelling at presentation and delay in fracture reduction may be important warning signs for the development of a compartment syndrome in children with supracondylar fractures of the humerus.

The brachial artery is rarely injured after closed dislocation of the elbow. We describe an unusual variation of this injury, namely, a delayed thrombosis of the brachial artery after a closed dislocation sustained during a low-energy fall. This has not previously been described in the English literature, but may be more common than this suggests. We stress the importance of a thorough neurovascular examination and vigilance in regard to this potentially disastrous complication.