Nonunion of Diaphyseal Humerus Fracture in an Infant

Abstract

Case: A 9-month-old infant girl with Down syndrome presented with an atrophic nonunion of the right humerus diaphysis secondary to birth trauma. Surgical intervention included open reduction and external fixation plus cadaveric cancellous bone allograft and platelet-rich plasma and then was changed to an external fixator in axial compression. At 16 months after surgery, bone healing was achieved. Conclusion:Nonunions in infants are rare, and their treatment is a challenge; an adequate vascular supply with good stabilization and reduction are keys to management. We believe that the improvement in reduction and stability under axial compression were the keys to achieve consolidation.Disclosure: The Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms are provided with the online version of the article (http://links.lww.com/JBJSCC/C87).