Introduction:

Supracondylar fractures represent the most frequent cause of pediatric elbow injuries, at 64%, in children under eight years old. These fractures can present complications such as: A) Complications prior to treatment: 1) neurological, 2) vascular and 3) compartment syndrome. B) Complications after treatment: 1) early, in the first days after treatment: loss of reduction, neurological, vascular, compartment syndrome, infection of Kirschner wires. 2) Late complications in treatment: Angular deformity, loss of mobility, ossifying myositis, avascular necrosis of the trochlea, others.

Objective:

To determine the frequency of complications in humeral supracondylar fractures in less than eight years.

Material and methods:

A retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted in patients under 8 years of age during the period of March 2014 to February 2018.

Results:

277 patients were obtained with the following percentages: cubitus varus 3.97%, neurological lesions prior to surgical treatment 1.44%, early neurological complications to treatment 1.44%, infections of Kirschner needles 0.72%, cubitus valgus 0.72%, loss of mobility 0.36%.

Conclusions:

The most common complication of humerus supracondylar fractures in this study was cubitus varus and neurological complications prior to treatment.