Biomechanical Comparison of Three Repair Methods for Proximal Femoral Physeal Fractures in Shear and Tension

Three techniques of proximal femoral physeal fracture repair; a single screw from below the greater trochanter, three divergent pins, and two screws placed from the articular surface, were tested in tension and shear. Fractures, created on in vitro femora, repaired with a single lag screw and the two screws, were significantly stronger in tension than those repaired with multiple pins. Significant differences were not found between the repair techniques for shear strength or stiffness in neither tension nor shear.