[A 36 month prospective study of 12 plate osteosyntheses of distal radius fractures]

We performed a prospective study of 12 intra-articular distal radial fractures. The fractures were treated with an anterior plate together with posterior pinning. The aim of the study was to examine whether it was technically feasible to fix such fractures using this technique and to assess the stability of the fixation at follow up.Twelve articular fractures were included with a mean age of 47.1 years. All patients were followed up from first admission to the 36th postop month with clinical and radiological checks.At follow up, we found 8 good and excellent clinical results, 3 fair and 1 poor. The combination of an anterior plate with posterior pinning allowed a good initial reduction but could not protect from secondary displacement particularly in the presence of a comminuted metaphysal fracture.This procedure gave clinically satisfactory results but did not control ulnar variance. This procedure should be combined with bone grafting in complex metaphysal fractures and epiphysal screws should be used whenever possible.