Pediatric Distal Radius Fractures

Author

Jesse Dashe MD
October 23, 2023

Topic: Pediatric Distal Radius Fractures

Greetings colleagues,

Welcome to the Hands-On The East Bay Newsletter, which summarizes key topics in hand surgery for providers on the front lines. I'm Dr. Jesse Dashe, an orthopedic hand surgeon at the East Bay Hand Medical Center.

Question:

What are the most common mechanism of injury?

Answer: 

Most occur from falls onto an outstretched hand. Non-accidental injury should always be ruled out.

Torus Fracture: Orthobullets.

Question:

How much angulation is acceptable based on age?

Answer: 

  • <10 years: Up to 30° angulation

  • 10 years: Up to 15° angulation

Distal Radius Physis Fracture: Orthobullets.

Question:

Why is an elbow exam and/or imaging important?

Answer: 

Up to 25% of pediatric distal radius fractures also have an elbow fracture, which could be missed if the elbow is not examined and/or imaged.

Question:

How to immobilize the patient for these fractures?

Answer: 

  • Sugartong as a general split is acceptable

  • For stable patterns, can do short arm splint or wrist brace

Question:

How long is a cast needed?

Answer: 

These fractures are typically treated for 4-6 weeks in a cast or brace.

Short arm cast: AO.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or would like to refer any patients. You can refer patients at handreferral.com or by using this link:

If you need to reach me directly, please respond to this email or email me at [email protected].

Please contact me so I can come by your facility to meet face-to-face and/or give presentations, splinting sessions, etc.

Lastly, let me know if you have any other hand topics you would like covered in the future!

Sincerely,