Presentation
Fall onto the outstretched hand. Forearm and wrist deformity upon physical examination.
Patient Data
Forearm radiographs revealed a slipped epiphysis of the distal radius with dorsal displacement, in keeping with a Salter-Harris type I physeal fracture.
Also, there is a greenstick fracture of the ulna.
Case Discussion
The present case is a type I Salter-Harris fracture as there is a translation of the epiphysis without a noticeable fracture line.
Salter-Harris classification is used to describe physeal fractures. The classification can be remembered using the SALTR mnemonic:
- S: slipped (type I)
- A: above or away from joint (type II)
- L: lower (type III)
- T: through or transverse or together (type IV)
- R: ruined or rammed (type V)
Also, there is a greenstick fracture of the ulna.
Both physeal and greenstick are fractures of the immature skeleton.