Triplane Fracture

  • Etiology: is a transitional fracture of distal tibia before closure of lateral physis
  • Imaging: Salter-Harris Type IV sagittal fracture through epiphysis, axial fracture through physis, coronal fracture through metaphysis
  • Radiograph: fracture is in sagittal (on AP view), horizontal and coronal planes (on lateral view)
  • Clinical: in adolescents, 18 month window prior to growth plate closure

Radiology Cases of Triplane Fracture

Radiograph and CT of triplane fracture
AP (left upper) and lateral (right upper) radiographs of the ankle show a sagittal fracture through the tibial epiphysis, an axial fracture through the physis, and a coronal fracture through the tibial metaphysis. This is better demonstrated on the coronal (lower left) and sagittal (lower right) CT 2D reconstructions without contrast of the ankle.