ABSTRACT
Background: Distal radius fractures [DRFs] are mainly treated by surgery; however, there is no strong evidence to establish the superiority of one modality over another
Aim: To determine the most efficient surgical procedure in terms of restoring anatomical angles in DRFs
Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah between 2010 and 2016. It involved 31 patients with DRF treated surgically. All patients were assessed pre-and post-operatively to measure radial height [RH], radial inclination [RI], ulnar variance [UV] and volar tilt [VT] on posteroanterior and lateral radiographs. The Shapiro-Wilk test was performed to determine the normality of measurements
Results: Pre-operative variables, including [RH], [RI], [VT], and [UV], were not significantly different among patients in all treatment groups. In group 1 [closed reduction with K-wire, external fixation, or both], all the pre- and post-treatment variables were significantly different [p < 0.05], except [UV] [p = 0.867]. Conversely, the difference between pre- and post-measurement variables in group 2 [open reduction with plate and screw] was significantly high [p < 0.05]. Further, group 3 [open reduction with K-wire plus plate and screws] and group 4 [open reduction with K-wire plus plate and screws in combination with external fixation] showed no significant difference [p > 0.05]
Conclusion: Open reduction with plate and screws was highly effective in the management of DRFs. However, additional studies are needed to establish an effective management for these fractures