Injuries involving the epiphyseal plate

Injuries involving the epiphyseal plate present special problems in diagnosis and management. The dread complication of serious disturbance of growth is usually predictable and, in certain circumstances, can be prevented. Thus, knowledge of the prognosis for a given injury to the epiphyseal plate in a particular child is of considerable importance to the surgeon, who has the dual responsibility of treating the child and advising the parents. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss epiphysealplate Injuries from both the clinical and the experimental points of view... [A] classification Is [presented] based on the mechanism of injury and the relationship of the fracture line to the growing cells of the epiphyseal plate. The classification is also correlated with the prognosis concerning disturbance of growth.