Less invasive surgery with wrist arthroscopy for distal radius fracture

We developed a surgical procedure that can facilitate arthroscopic intervention for volar locking plate fixation for distal radius fracture (DRF) with a less invasive technique. This study is to investigate the effectiveness of our original procedure for the treatment of DRF.

One hundred fifty-five wrists of 153 consecutive patients underwent our original procedure: the plate presetting arthroscopic reduction technique (PART) for DRF. The fractures consisted of 37 extra-articular and 118 intra-articular fractures. The fractures were reduced, anatomical alignment was regained with the aid of an image intensifier, and the volar locking plate was preset. Wrist arthroscopy was then performed and the intra-articular condition assessed. If there were any residual dislocations of the intra-articular fragments, these were reduced arthroscopically, and soft tissue injuries were subsequently treated. The traction was then removed, and the plate was securely fixed. One hundred forty-five patients were followed up from 12 to 48 months. The final outcome was evaluated with the Mayo modified wrist score and Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH). The effectiveness of arthroscopy was also investigated.

On arthroscopic inspection, intra-articular dislocations were found to be residual in 35.2 %, even if reduction seemed to have been achieved when viewed with the image intensifier. Scapholunate interosseous ligament injury was recognized in 28.9 %, and triangular fibrocartilage complex injury was observed in 63.2 %. The final outcome was 112 excellent, 31 good, and 2 fair. The mean DASH score was 4.1.

We developed the PART to simplify the combination of volar locking plating and arthroscopy. This technique was less invasive and effective in the treatment of DRF.