A Rare Case of Isolated Type III Salter-Harris Physeal Injury of the Distal Ulna

Pediatric distal forearm fractures are very commonly seen in orthopedic and trauma services. The majority of such fractures involve either distal radius alone or concomitant with distal ulna physis. Isolated injuries of the distal ulna physis are exceedingly rare. Moreover, only one case of isolated Salter-Harris type III distal ulnar physeal injury has been reported in English literature. We report the second such case of isolated distal ulnar physeal injury with Salter-Harris type III pattern in a 15-year-old male child. The injury was treated conservatively in a short-arm splint for four weeks with a good outcome. At the last follow-up of one year, there was no physeal abnormality or growth disturbance detected. Such injuries need to be ruled out in all pediatric distal forearm fractures and can be managed conservatively, if undisplaced, with good outcomes. These patients also need regular monitoring till the closure of the physis to look for the development of any ulnar shortening or deformity due to physeal growth arrest.