Elbow injuries are a frequent occurrence in the skeletally immature pediatric population. The metaphysis of the distal humerus is most susceptible to fractures in this population as it is an area of transition from a tubular configuration to a more flattened triangular cross-section. In addition to this anatomical peculiarity, ligamentous laxity in this age group predisposes pediatric patients between the age of 4 and 8 years to supracondylar fractures of the humerus. Typically, malunion of supracondylar fractures often leads to cubitus varus, or "gunstock deformity." This condition is a triplanar malalignment of the elbow, characterized by varus angulation in the coronal plane, extension in the sagittal plane, and internal rotation in the transverse plane. Although it is frequently regarded as a purely cosmetic problem in children, it occasionally causes late-onset lateral elbow pain, symptomatic elbow posterolateral rotatory instability (PLRI), triceps snapping, progressive ulnar and elbow joint varus, ulnar neuropathy, or rarely, predispose to lateral humeral condyle fractures. For this reason, it may be appropriate to offer surgical treatment in the vast majority of patients with this complaint. Various treatment options proposed include observation, hemiepiphysiodesis and growth alteration, and corrective osteotomy. Corrective osteotomy is the preferred method, as it yields the highest probability for success.
肘部损伤在骨骼未成熟的儿童群体中很常见。在这个群体中，肱骨远端干骺端最容易发生骨折，因为它是从管状结构过渡到更扁平三角形横截面的区域。除了这种解剖学上的特殊性外，这个年龄组的韧带松弛使4至8岁的儿童患者易发生肱骨髁上骨折。通常，髁上骨折畸形愈合常导致肘内翻，即“枪托畸形”。这种情况是肘部的三平面排列不齐，其特征是冠状面内翻成角、矢状面伸展和横断面内旋。虽然在儿童中它常被视为纯粹的美容问题，但它偶尔会导致迟发性外侧肘部疼痛、有症状的肘部后外侧旋转不稳定（PLRI）、三头肌弹响、进行性尺骨和肘关节内翻、尺神经病变，或很少见的易发生肱骨外侧髁骨折。因此，对于绝大多数有这种症状的患者，进行手术治疗可能是合适的。提出的各种治疗选择包括观察、半骨骺阻滞和生长改变以及截骨矫正术。截骨矫正术是首选方法，因为它成功的概率最高。
