An epidemiological study of patterns of condylar fractures in children

Objective - To find out how the site and type of condylar fracture are affected by its aetiology and the age and sex of the patient. Design - Retrospective study. Setting - Tertiary referral centre, Finland. Material - Radiographs of 101 children (aged 15 years or less) with 119 condylar fractures. Main outcome measures - Site of fracture and degree of displacement. Results - A total of 26 of the 119 fractures were intracapsular (22%) and 93 (78%) extracapsular. Only among patients less than 6 years of age was there a preponderance of intracapsular fractures (7/12 fractures in 10 patients, 58%). In the older children 78% (83/107) were in the condylar neck. There were few subcondylar fractures (51/119, 4%). Only 6 fractures were displaced (5%). Dislocation of the condyle from the glenoid fossa was common in all age groups. Conclusion - The site of condylar fracture is age related, but not associated with sex or aetiology.