Importance of distal radius teardrop angle in the treatment of distal radius middle column fracture / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the importance of measuring and restoring distal radius tear drop angle in the treatment of distal radius middle column fracture with anterior collapse of lunate fossa joint.Methods:Thirty one cases of distal radius fractures in 29 patients was reported for 2 years from January 2018 to January 2020. Two patients with both distal radius fractures were included in this study. All cases in this group were treated by operation. Among the 29 patients, there were 20 males and 9 females. Their ages were 44.9±15.1 years (ranged from 20 to 78 years). Two patients with both distal radius fractures were included in this study, due to both teardrop angle (TDA) reduced. The time from injury to operation was 4-17 d, with an average of 6.9 d. Except for 2 cases of fracture with simple volar approach, the other cases were treated with combined volar and dorsal approach. All patients were treated with open reduction and internal fixation with plates and bone grafting. The teardrop angle was measured before and after operation, and the effect of surgical recovery of teardrop angle was compared. The wrist function was evaluated by Gartland-Werley scores.Results:The wounds of all patients healed in one stage without postoperative infection. The follow-up time of 29 patients were 15.1±5.2 months, ranged from 7 to 31 months. The healing time for all fractures was 10.3±2.9 weeks (from 8 to 16 weeks). No fracture nonunion or redisplacement. In 31 cases, the tear drop angle was 33.4°±5.83° (20°-45°) before operation, and 58.9°±9.89° (35°-70°) after operation. At the end of follow-up, Gartland-Werley scores was 4.7±4.6, ranged from 0 to 17. Among them, 10 cases were excellent, 16 were good, 5 cases were fair, and the excellent and good rate was 83.9%. The Gartland-Werley scores of the two subgroups with postoperative tear drop angle recovery ≥50° and <50° were compared, and the results were significantly different (the excellent and good rate for two subgroups were 96.2% and 20.0% respectively ( P=0.001). Conclusion:The distal radius fracture with significantly reduced tear drop angle should be actively treated. The measurement and recovery of tear drop angle is an important factor affecting the functional outcome of distal radius fracture with anterior edge collapse of lunate fossa joint, which should be highly concerned by clinical doctors. The recovery of teardrop angle mostly requires dorsal approach.