INTRAMALLEOLAR TRIPLANE FRACTURES OF THE DISTAL TIBIAL EPIPHYSIS

The intramalleolar triplane fracture of the distal tibial epiphysis is a relatively rare injury in children. We studied five children with i ntramalleolar triplane fractures. Four of the five children were compe titive athletes, Each child underwent computerized tomography with thr ee-dimensional reconstruction. Delineation of the intramalleolar fract ure pattern with computerized tomography with three-dimensional recons truction demonstrated three distinct types of intramalleolar triplane fractures: I. intraarticular and within the weight-bearing zone, II. i ntraarticular and outside the weight-bearing zone, and III, extraartic ular. Computerized tomography with three-dimensional reconstruction de lineated the fracture pattern and allowed selection of the optimal tre atment method. A classification scheme of the three types of intramall eolar triplane fracture is proposed.