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Volar plating may have short-term advantage over external fixation for distal radius fractures
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SEATTLE —Patients treated with volar plating for distal radius fractures show better functional recovery and radiographic outcomes compared to patients treated with external fixation, according to data presented at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting, here.
“However, there was no significant difference in functional score between the volar plating and [external fixation] grouping at final follow-up,” Young Hak Roh, MD, PhD, said.
Roh and colleagues evaluated 74 patients with C2 and C3 distal radius fractures. Patients were treated with either volar plating or external fixation. The two groups Roh and colleagues compared the two groups in terms of wrist range of motion, grip strength, Michigan Hand Questionnaire values and radiographic assessment at 3-month, 6-month and 12-month follow-up.
Compared with patients who had external fixation, the volar plating group exhibited greater grip strength at 3 months and 6 months, as well as greater range of motion and higher Michigan Hand Questionnaire scores at 3 months. Roh said there was no significant difference in the metrics between groups at final follow-up. Radiologic assessment showed better ulnar variance in the volar plating cohort than the external fixation group. – by Christian Ingram
Reference:
Roh YH, et al. Paper #6. Presented at: American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting; Sept. 10-12, 2015; Seattle.
Disclosure: Roh reports no relevant financial disclosures.