COMPARISON OF TREATMENT OUTCOMES OF SUPRACONDYLAR FRACTURES OF HUMERUS BY LATERAL ENTRY K WIRES VERSUS CROSS K WIRES IN CHILDREN

Objective: To relate the results of patients with supracondylar fractures of the humerus managed with lateral K entry wires and cross K wires in children. Study Design: A randomized controlled trial study. Place and Duration: In the Orthopaedic department of Fazaia Medical College and Hospital Islamabad for one- year duration from March 2018 to March 2019. Methods: A total of 200 patients divided into A and B. Fixation of the cross k-wire was done in group A and lateral fixation of the k cable was done in group B. Loss of reduction was evaluated and recorded postoperatively and three weeks after the K wires removal. The elbow range of motion is excellent, evaluated at the end of 12 weeks postoperatively. Results: 200 patients were selected for the study. Eighty patients (80%) were men, and twenty subjects (20%) were women in which cross k-wire were done, seventy-eight (78%) men, and twenty-two (22%) were female were dining in lateral k wire group. Thirty patients in group A (30%) and forty patients in group B (41%) were found to have loss of reduction. In Group A, seventy-two patients (72%) had excellent outcome. Twenty-eight patients (28%) did not gain the preferred range of motion within the elbow. In group B, excellent results were obtained in 65 patients (65%), while the preferred motion range was not achieved in 35 patients (35%). Conclusion: Lateral fixation with wire k is as effective as cross k-wire in the treatment of displaced supracondylar fracture of the humerus in children who maintain the technical aspect of fracture reduction. Even if the fracture has lost the reduction; excellent results in range of motion can be gained. Key Words: Anterior humeral line, Baumann angle, reduction loss, range of motion