In this paper, the late results of epiphyseal injuries of the ankle were reported and the factors influencing the results were discussed.
Twenty epiphyseal injuries were treated at Nagasaki Rosai Hospital from 1959 to 1984. Sixteen of the series of them were followed up for one to fourteen years. On examination, the clinical results such as pain, walking ability, range of motion and the radiological results such as malleolar hypertrophy, length discrepancy of the tibia were evaluated.
According to the Salter-Harris' classification, the patients were devided into Type I: two cases, Type II: seven, Type III: seven, and there was no relationship between the types of injuries and the clinical late results. Radiologically, however, malleolar hyper-trophy was observed in all of the five cases of Type III (adduction type), and length discrepancy of the tibia was seen in low-aged patients, but these radiological abnormarities had no clinical significance.
In conclusion, the satisfactory prognosis in this series may be due to the facts that there was no case of Type IV and V injuries, most cases were in adolescence (10-15 years of age), and the good reduction was achieved in all of the cases.
