[Triplane fractures of the lower shin bone in children and adults].

The author reports an unusual combined lesion of epiphysiolysis and fracture of the distal tibial epiphyseal plate. Commonly one describes 3 types of this lesion, which present in the X-ray-diagnosis identical pictures although the bone fragments have quite different relationship concerning their topography. In the literature 88 cases of such a lesion are reported till now, the author describes 15 patients from 1973 to 1981. Twelve of them with the average age of 14 1/2 years and the meantime of controls of 4 years have been controlled. In 2 patients the results are considered as not satisfying, where as in one case the cause was probably a false diagnosis and consecutive a false treatment, the other having premature ossification of epiphysis. The proposed treatment is mainly conservative in undisplaced fractures and operative in fractures with displacement over 1 mm.