Analysis Of The Clinical Efficacy Of External Fixation And Volar Locked Plating For Unstable Fractures Of The Distal Radius

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of external fixator and volar plate in the treatment of unstable distal radius fractures.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 98 cases of distal radius fractures in January 2013 to May 2016 in our hospital,a total of 68 patients with met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.34 cases were treated with internal fixation by Kirschner wire through limited incision with external fixation(External Fixation group),Open reduction and internal fixation in 34 cases(Internal Fixation group).In the follow-up,outcomes were assessed by radiographic parameters,function parameters,and Cooney functional score between both groups.Results:68 cases were followed up for 12-36 months,average 19.6 months,all fractures achieved clinical healing.At 3 and 6 months postoperatively,The function of wrist joint in internal fixation group was better than external fixation,However,there was no significant difference between the two groups between preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively(P>0.05).There was no significant difference in the radiographic parameters,grip strength and Cooney functional score was determined between the two groups at any time points in 1-year follow-up(P>0.05).After 1 years of follow-up,according to the Cooney functional score evaluation,External Fixation group:excellent in 13cases;good in 16 cases,5 cases,the excellent and good rate was 85%;Internal Fixation group:excellent in 14 cases,good in 16 cases,4 cases,the excellent and good rate was 88%,there was no significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:These results demonstrated that compared with the external fixation,volar locked plate fixation showed better early recovery postoperatively.With time prolonged,clinical outcomes of both repair methods tended to be consistent.