| Abstract: | Between 1977 and 1982, 17 pediatric patients ranging in age from six to 14 years were treated for injuries that required the application of a total of 20 external fixation devices. The indications for the use of external fixation devices in children include: open fractures with soft-tissue injury, unstable fractures (diaphyseal, epiphyseal, and intra-articular), "polytrauma" patients, and unstable pelvic fractures. All fractures and soft-tissue injuries healed. The usual reported complications of external fixation devices, such as pin tract infections, delayed union, and refracture, were not encountered. |
