Triplane fracture of the distal radius: A case report

Abstract

Triplane fractures are those that occur in 3 separate planes at the end of an immature long bone. The line fracture cross the epiphysis in the sagittal plane, the physis in the transverse plane, and the metaphysis in the coronal plane. By their nature, they are considered an intra-articular injury. Radiographically, these fractures often resemble a Salter-Harris type III epiphyseal slip injury on the anterior-posterior view and a Salter-Harris type II on the lateral projection and are consequently considered a Salter-Harris type IV.
Only 5 cases of triplanar fracture of the distal end of the radius have been reported so far in the literature, the second case managed with open reduction and internal fixation is reported.
This is a 12-year-old patient with a history of trauma to the right wrist after a car accident, with deformity and functional limitation and diagnostic images that confirm a metaphyseal fracture of the distal end of the right radius with radial displacement and with a fracture through the epiphysis, physis and metaphysis. An open reduction and internal fixation was performed. Two years after the injury, the patient is asymptomatic, with preserved joint mobility and diagnostic images with evidence of adequate fracture consolidation, absence of alteration of the physis and consequent normal growth of the radius