| Functional Outcome of the Wrist according to Degree of Distraction with External Fixation in the Treatment of Distal Radius Fracture |
|
Tae Hoon Roh, Yun Moon Jeon, Yeop Na, Tong Joo Lee |
|
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. tjlee@inha.ac.kr |
|
Received: 10 April 2018 • Revised: 24 July 2018 • Accepted: 24 July 2018 |
| Abstract |
Purpose
This study aimed to evaluate the relation between the degree of wrist joint distraction and postoperative restoration of joint function after performed external fixation with distraction of wrist joint in distal radius fracture.
Methods
This study was conducted retrospectively on 55 patients who underwent reduction using external fixation for distal intra-articular radius fracture from January 2007 to December 2014. The degree of pre- and post-operative distraction was measured radiographically using the carpal height ratio (CHR). For postoperative functional assessment, range of motion of the wrist, Gartland Werley classification, grip strength, and pinch strength were measured.
Results
In the functional assessment based on the Gartland Werley classification, excellent was reported by 31 patients, good; 16 patients, fair; 8 patients, and poor; 0 patients. The mean CHR was 0.519 preoperatively and 0.565 immediately after surgery. The mean postoperative CHR of excellent group was 0.581, demonstrating better clinical outcome in distraction than other groups. Eight case of joint stiffness was manifested when CHR value was lower than 0.54 and only 1 case of joint stiffness was manifested when CHR value was higher than 0.54, showing a tendency for lower incidence of joint stiffness when distracted over 0.54 of CHR.
Conclusion
External fixation after sufficient distraction of the wrist joint produced an excellent outcome in the functional assessment. The better the prognosis in the Gartland Werley classification, the higher the CHR and the group with a CHR greater than 0.54 immediately after surgery showed less joint stiffness than the lower group. |
| Key Words:
Radius fractures, External fixators, Distraction |
| |
|
PDF Links
Full text via DOI
Download Citation
