A retrospective comparative study was done of two groups of patients
with displaced supracondylar fractures of the humerus. The patients in the
first group were treated with Dunlop's traction, while those in the second
group were treated by percutaneous pin fixation. There were thirty-six
patients in the group treated with Dunlop's traction, of whom twenty-seven
were seen in follow-up with an average time of 2.7 years. Twenty-eight
patients were in the group treated with pin fixation, of whom twenty were
seen in follow-up with an average time of 2.9 years. In each case the chart
and roentgenograms were reviewed and the patient was examined. The results
showed a 33 per cent incidence of cubitus varus (so-called gunstock
deformity) in the patients treated with Dunlop's traction as compared with
5 per cent in those pinned percutaneously. The range of elbow motion was
also slightly better in the group treated with pin fixation. Furthermore,
the costs and hospital stays were significantly less in those treated by
pinning. Complications in both groups were few.