Treatment of posttraumatic radial club hand with distraction lengthening

The clinical and radiological results of distraction lengthening in cases with posttraumatic radial club hand were evaluated. Five patients (3 men and 2 women, with average age of 21 years) with traumatic radial shortening (3 patients had nonunited fracture of distal end radius with bone loss and 2 patients had short radius after malunited fracture of radius or growth arrest of distal radial epiphysis, the average shortening was 4.2 cm) were treated with distraction lengthening using Ilizarov fixator and hybrid fixation technique. Patients were evaluated clinically for hand function and appearance, and radiologically for union. The average follow-up was 25 months. The preplanned length was achieved in all cases with good union and no bone graft was needed, clinically there was much improvement in hand function (the range of motion of the wrist increased and the power of hand grip increased) and appearance. Pin tract infection occurred in 3 cases, broken pin in 1 case, and stiff wrist in 1 case. These complications were treated and did not affect the final results. Acquired radial club hand is difficult to treat. Treatment with distraction lengthening is a good option with excellent results and mild complications that did not affect the overall results.