Treatment Strategies for Acute Seymour Fractures in Children and Adolescents: Including Crushed Open Fractures.

PURPOSE

We aimed to suggest treatment strategies for Seymour fractures (SFs) with varying clinical manifestations, based on the retrospective outcomes of patients seen at our institute.

METHODS

Between March 2000 and December 2019, a total of 26 SF patients were categorized into 3 groups: acute typical SF (category 1; open fracture/exposed germinal matrix and physis), acute injuries but delayed presentation (category 2; presented to our institute more than 24 hours after the injury with misdiagnosis as simple nail injuries), and direct crush injuries (category 3; the most severe injury type, characterized by nail loss, nail bed lacerations, or maceration of the germinal matrix). In category 1, reduction was maintained using K-wire fixation without nail plate sutures. In 2, massive irrigation/debridement was followed by reduction and nail plate suturing without K-wire fixation. Finally, in 3, nail bed repair, reinsertion of the extracted nail plate after creating a penetration hole for drainage, K-wire fixation, and nail plate suturing were sequentially performed.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 8.92 years. At the final follow-up, the mean dorsal angulation was 1.73 degrees, and the length ratio was 97.88%; no significant differences were observed compared with the contralateral normal side ( P = 0.498 and P = 0.341, respectively). The final visual analog scale pain score; the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score; and the active range of motion ratio were 0.50, 1.52, and 96.92%, respectively. There were no significant complications requiring revision surgery. Although the overall outcomes were satisfactory, category 3 patients had slightly worse visual analog scale pain scores; Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand scores; and range of motion compared with those in the other categories ( P = 0.003, P = 0.002, and P < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Satisfactory clinical outcomes were obtained by applying different surgical treatments to the different SF categories. We have suggested appropriate treatment strategies for acute SF varying in severity.