Salter Harris I Fibula Fractures: Fact vs Fiction

  When I did my training, the standard party line was that if a skeletally immature patient has an ankle injury, is tender over the distal fibular physis and did not really have significant tenderness over the lateral ankle ligaments, the injury should be assumed to be a Salter Harris I fracture. If you aren’t familiar with the Salter Harris classification system for fractures affecting the growth plate, a Salter Harris I fracture goes straight through the physis, so an x-ray usually won’t help diagnose it; a Salter Harris II fracture goes through the physis into the metaphysis (or towards the shaft of the bone); a Salter Harris III fracture goes through the physis and into the epiphysis (or towards the joint side of the bone); a Salter Harris IV fracture involves the metaphysis, the physis and the epiphysis (so think of a combo Salter Harris II and III) and a Salter Harris V fracture is a crush injury of the physis. However, the Salter Harris I fibular fracture makes a clinical assumption the way we talk about it. But what does the research say about this injury? Today on the podcast, my guest may change your approach entirely to this diagnosis and our preconceived notions.   The Pediatric Sports Medicine Podcast Links Bar:  Subscribe via Apple Podcasts |  Subscribe via RSS Feed |  Facebook Page |  Twitter Page |  Stitcher Page Find Even More Ways to Listen & Subscribe via The Podcaster Matrix!     The ultimate success for every podcaster – is FEEDBACK! Be sure to take just a few minutes to tell the hosts of this podcast what YOU think over at Apple Podcasts! It takes only a few minutes but helps the hosts of this program pave the way to future greatness! Not an Apple Podcasts user? No problem! Be sure to check out any of the other many growing podcast directories online to find this and many other podcasts via The Podcaster Matrix!     Housekeeping -- Get the whole story about Dr. Mark and his launch into this program, by listing to his "101" episode that'll get you educated, caught up and in tune with the Doctor that's in the podcast house! Listen Now! -- Interested in being a Guest on The Pediatric Sports Medicine Podcast? Connect with Mark today!