Pediatric Hardware Removal Complications; Are They Really Easy Surgeries?

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the complications and challenges encountered in pediatric implant removal cases. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in Sancaktepe Şehit Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank Research and Training Hospital and data was collected from patients’ charts, operating room registrations, and operation notes, who underwent hardware removal surgery between January 2024 and October 2024. The normality of the data was assessed with the Q-Q plot test. The Student's t-test was used to compare two independent groups with normal distribution, whereas the Kruskal-Wallis test was used for non-normally distributed data. Results: Forty-two cases of pediatric implant removal patients were included in the study and significant correlation was found between the duration of surgery and the type of implant removed (p=0.006). After the removal of implants, the following complications were observed: superficial infection occurred in 3 patients (7%), deep tissue infection in 2 patients (5%), failure to remove the implant in 2 cases (5%), refracture in 1 patient (2%), and extensor tendon injury in 1 patient (2%). Conclusion: To minimize the risk of complications during implant removal, it is recommended to choose the correct and high-quality implant, apply appropriate surgical techniques, and plan the removal surgery while performing fracture fixation, adjusting the treatment accordingly.