Db. Stevens et al., IN-SITU FIXATION OF THE SLIPPED CAPITAL FEMORAL EPIPHYSIS WITH A SINGLE-SCREW, Journal of pediatric orthopedics. Part B, 5(2), 1996, pp. 85-89
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.