Factors related to risk of growth insult | Description of possible factors |
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Severity of the injury | If the injury causes the blood supply to the epiphysis to be cut-off, growth can be stunted. If the growth platae is shifted, shattered or crushed, a bony bridge is more likely to form, and the risk of growth retardation is higher. |
Age of the child | In a younger child, the bones have a great deal of growing to do; therefore, growth arrest can be more serious. |
Gender | On average, ossification of the secondary centres of the major long bones begins earlier and is completed earlier in girls than in boys. |
Which growth plate is injured | Some growth plates, such as those of the region of the knee, are more responsible for extensive bone growth than others. |
Type of growth plate fractures | Acute growth plate injuries have been classified by the level of severity. Since the 1960s, the Salter–Harris classification, which divides most growth-plate fractures into five categories based on type of damage, has been most widely used. A newer classification, called the Peterson classification, adds a type VI fracture, in which a portion of the epiphysis, growth plate and metaphysis is missing. |
Adapted from: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ‘Growth Plate Injuries.’95