1. The circulatory complications of forearm fractures may be divided into three classes: A, simple swelling of the hand; B, transitory contracture of the fingers; and C, Volkmann's contracture.
2. Complications of the Class-A and Class-B types are amenable to conservative treatment.
3. Ischaemic contracture, occurring after elbow or forearm fractures, appears to be the result of an almost complete arrest of the circulation in the flexor muscles of the forearm.
4. If the permanent deformity of Volkmann's contracture is to be prevented, the operation of aponeurotomy must be done early after the appearance of the first signs of the disease.