Comparison of three different plating techniques for the dorsum of the distal radius: a biomechanical study

Three different plating techniques were used on experimentally produced dorsally displaced distal radius fractures in cadavers and were tested in 4-point bending: a AO 3.5-mm T plate (group 1), two 2. 0-mm titanium plates 60 degrees to each other (group 2), and the AO pi plate (group 3). A metaphyseal defect was simulated by a dorsally open wedge osteotomy. The tests show that the 2-mm double-plating technique has superior stiffness and statistically equivalent bending and bone gap to failure compared with the AO 3.5-mm T plate or the pi plate when applied to the unstable distal radius fracture model. (J Hand Surg 2000; 25A:29-33.