Abstract
Recently, several new dorsally and volarly placed plates for the distal radius were developed and the current study used volarly placed plates for unstable distal radius fractures.
Twenty-two patients (3 males and 19 females), with a mean age of 65 years (range 21-83 years) were treated using internal fixation with the AO volar distal radius plate between March 2001 and July 2003 at our hospital. The mean follow-up period was 16 weeks (range 7-32 weeks). According to the AO classification, 1 was A2, 11 were A3, 9 were C2 and 1 was C3. There were 4 double fractures. Five patients received hydroxyapatite grafts. Bony union was gained in all patients. Clinical results according to Saito’s classification were excellent in 9 cases, good in 12 cases and fair in 1 case. The average volar tilt was 5.2°. The average ulnar tilt was 23.3°. There was a postoperative loss of reduction in 7 cases, but the displacement was slight and the clinical results were relatively good. Locking the buttress pin on the AO volar distal radius plate is very effective to maintain stable repositioning. We found the AO volar distal radius plate useful for the treatment of the dorsally displaced fracture of the distal radius in this series.
