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Salter-Harris fracture

fracture index

Salter-Harris fracture is a traumatic fracture around or through the growth plate of a bone in a child.

There are 5 types of Salter-Harris fracture

• Type 1 Salter-Harris fracture is a fracture along the growth plate which may appear as a widening of the growth plate.
• Type 2 Salter-Harris fracture is a fracture of the diaphysis "Above the growth plate" and is the most common.
• Type 3 Salter-Harris fracture is a fracture of the epiphysis "Lower than the growth plate"
• Type 4 Salter-Harris fracture is a fracture of the diaphysis and the epiphysis which communicates "Through the growth plate".
• Type 5 Salter-Harris fracture is an impaction of the epiphysis into the diaphysis or a "Raised epiphysis" and is the least common and most difficult to diagnose.

What is a growth plate fracture or Salter-Harris fracture

The growth plate is an area of developing tissue near the ends of long bones, between the shaft of the bone and the end of the bone. The growth plate regulates and helps determine the length and shape of the mature bone. The long bones of the body do not grow from the center outward. Instead, growth occurs at each end of the bone around the growth plate

Symptoms of Salter-Harris fracture

• Symptoms can be similar to other fracture symptoms but here are some to watch for in children.
• Inability to play following an acute or sudden injury.
• Decreased ability to play because of long-term complications following an injury.
• Visible deformity of the child's arms or legs.
• Severe pain from acute injuries that prevent the use of an arm or leg.

Treatment of Salter-Harris fracture

Type 1 break the bone above the growth plate, with a fracture line that extends down into the growth plate.

• Generally heal well. The bone remains aligned, and usually no surgery is required.
• Treated by cast immobilization

Type 2 break through part of the bone at the growth plate and crack through the bone shaft as well.

• Generally heal well, although surgery may sometimes be required. This is the most common type of growth plate fracture.
• Most are treated with cast immobilization.

Treatment Options: Surgical

Type 3 break through the bone at the growth plate, separating the bone end from the bone shaft and completely disrupting the growth plate.

• May result in arrested growth and requires surgical treatment.
• Often treated with internal fixation to ensure proper alignment.

Type 4 cross through a portion of the growth plate and break off a piece of the bone end.

• More common in older children. Because the center of the growth plate has begun to harden, the fracture does not continue across the bone, but angles down and breaks the bone end.
• Treated with surgery and internal fixation to ensure proper alignment of both the growth plate and the joint surface.

Type 5 break through the bone shaft, the growth plate, and the end of the bone.

• Commonly result in arrested growth of the bone.
• Treated with surgery and internal fixation.