Physeal injury in a lightning strike survivor.

Electrical injuries resulting in physeal injury in children are an uncommon but well-recognized clinical entity. Almost all these injuries are sustained from man-made electrical sources. To date, there have been no published cases of growth arrest after lightning strike. The authors report the case of a 12-year-old girl who survived a lightning strike 2 years ago and who presented with asymmetric growth arrest in both legs. The authors discuss the pathophysiology of lightning strike and consider the evidence for direct electrical injury versus ischemic insult to the physis as explanations for the cause of the growth arrest observed in this patient.