Management of grade III supracondylar fracture of the humerus by straight-arm lateral traction: reply to comments by Ar et al.

Dear Sir, We thank Dr. Ar and his colleagues for their interest in our article [1]. I and my co-authors believe that our article addresses the issues raised by Ar et al. in his letter. The purpose of the paper was to re-introduce this method of management. The advantage of skin traction over skeletal traction is that it is less invasive and can be applied without anaesthesia. We did not encounter any problems with patient or parent compliance. In addition, since this type of fracture is not very common, the hospital stay was not found to be a problem. Another advantage of placing the arm in a straight lateral position is the decreased need for X-rays as the alignment and varus angle can be clinically observed and compared with the unaffected side. None of our patients required X-rays during the period of traction. We therefore believe that this method is effective and that it should not be forgotten as an alternative treatment. While we do not unequivocally recommend its application when other newer techniques can be used, especially if the expertise is available, we do believe that straight-arm lateral traction can be safely included in the options for treating these difficult injuries.