[Supracondylar fracture of the humerus in childhood. Complications, possibilities of treatment and late results (author's transl)].

At the Chirurgische Universitätsklinik Köln-Lindenthal, 103 children were treated for supracondylar fracture of the humerus from 1955 to 1975. The method of choice for treatment was Baumann's vertical suspension. Lesions of the brachial nerve were found to be the primary complication in 7% of the children and circulatory disorders in 10%. While the nerve injuries were treated conservatively, except for one case, 9 children had to be operated on because of ischemia of the forearm. The circulatory disorders could be rectified by thrombectomy and reconstruction of the brachial artery. In one child in whom the indication for operative revision in good time was missed, an ischemic muscle contracture developed.