Acute volar and dorsal compartment syndrome after a distal radius fracture: a case report

We present a case of an acute volar and dorsal compartment syndrome of the forearm secondary to a distal radius fracture. The patient sustained a low-energy injury (fall) and presented within 12 hours with signs and symptoms of a compartment syndrome prior to any treatment. Emergent volar and dorsal fasciotomies were performed, and the fracture was reduced and pinned. The fracture and fasciotomies healed without complication, and the patient was doing well on the last follow-up examination. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature of a volar and dorsal compartment syndrome after a low-energy fall prior to a patient receiving any treatment.