ABSTRACT
Background: Intraarticular fracture distal end of the radius isone of the most common fracture of upper extremities. Here israndomised comparative study of the most effective treatmentmodality to deal with such fracture by external fixator vsbuttress plating.Method: Patients were randomly allocated into two groups of30 each (group A and group B). Patients treated with externalfixator was put in group A while those treated with buttressplating was kept in group B. At the end of 8 months of follow-upfinal assessment was done for fracture union and patients wereassessed for pain, wrist range of motion (ROM), grip strengthand activity and scored according to the Modified Green OBrien Scoring System. The mean duration of treatment and theoutcome were comparable.Results: In group A (external fixator) only 7 patients hadexcellent and 18 had good results while patient in group B(ORIF with plating) 14 patients had excellent and 11 had goodresult.Conclusion: We found that plating predominantly providesmore excellent results as long as the radiological parametersare met and fixation achieved as early as possible along withvigorous physiotherapy.Level of Evidence: Level II randomised comparative series.