Traumatic Mallet Toe of the Hallux in a Paediatric Patient: A Case Report

Abstract

We describe a case of traumatic avulsion fracture of the distal phalanx of the hallux in a paediatric patient. The patient had a Salter Harris type III fracture of the distal phalanx with 40% of the articular cartilage involved and a clinical extension lag. We treated the injury non-operatively with applying a fibreglass dorsiflexion interphalangeal plaster for 6 weeks. An excellent outcome was achieved with normal range of interphalangeal motion and solid painless union of fracture at 12 weeks.

Keywords

• avulsion
• hallux
• mallet
• paediatric