[Os subfibulare in children secondary to an osteochondral fracture].

PURPOSE: The understanding of the os subfibulare in childhood.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

A retrospective study of radiographs following for indirect ankle injury in childhood over a period of two years.

RESULTS

The daily use of an oblique view during the exploration of ankle sprains in emergency has allowed us to image 12 small and linear chiplike fractures of the fibula by avulsion of the antero-medial part of the malleolar's tip where the talo-fibular collateral ligament is attached. Two children were reviewed one year after for a recurrent sprain: a larger and rounder fragment of bone has taken the place of the first piece of bone.

CONCLUSION

Symptomatic ossicles of the lateral malleolus in children is frequently if not always the consequence of an avulsion of the tip of the fibula. The outcome of these children may be a localised tenderness and recurrent episodes of sprains for minimal injury due to the weakness of the lateral ligament.