ABSTRACT
A growth arrest is an unexpected premature interruption of the longitudinal and/or latitudinal growth of a long bone. Defining the underlying etiology of the growth plate disturbance and the natural history of the problem is important when designing a treatment plan. A growth arrest is most frequently reported as a complication of a physeal fracture. Premature growth arrest is more common in the lower extremities, with post-traumatic arrest more frequent distally (1,2). A premature complete physeal arrest will result in only a retardation of bone length with no angular deformity. If the premature growth arrest involves only a portion of the growth plate, both an angular deformity and a limb-length discrepancy (LLD) will result. Other causes of growth plate disturbance are outlined in Table 1 (3-5).
