IN-SITU FIXATION OF THE SLIPPED CAPITAL FEMORAL EPIPHYSIS WITH A SINGLE-SCREW

We made a retrospective analysis of a consecutive series of patients w ith slipped capital femoral epiphyses (SCFE) surgically treated at the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children at Lexington, Kentucky. The clinical outcome was correlated to the number of pins and the incidenc e of chondrolysis, ischemic necrosis, and progressive slipping after t he initial fixation. An evaluation made of the Walters-Simon theoretic pin penetration formula was of no value in this series. We compiled r esults in the medical literature and compared them with ours; all info rmation indicated that a single pin through an anterior portal signifi cantly reduces complications and provides reliable fixation. However, ischemic necrosis still occurs in the unstable dip, although at a less er rate than in cases treated with multiple pin fixation.