[Surgical treatment of aseptic forearm shaft pseudarthrosis]

Non union of a lower arm fracture (without infection) is the result of inadequate immobilization or of too extensive devastation of the bone. Within 1975 to 1985 in the accident-hospital of Tübingen we saw 131 pseudarthroses of the ulnar or radius shaft in 111 patients. Among these a hypertrophic pseudarthrosis is mostly seen after conservative treatment or operative treatment with intramedullary nailing. Atrophic pseudarthroses or defect pseudarthroses mostly occur after open fractures, comminuted fractures or insufficient plate osteosynthesis. The operative treatment was regularly a plating of radius and/or ulna (mostly with the 3.5 mm AO-DC-plate) combined with correction of axis or rotation deformity. Depending on the type of the pseudarthrosis, decortication was also performed as well as an autogenous bone-grafting or an interposition of a cortical-cancellous-block. All but one of the pseudarthroses each of the ulna and radius, healed completely. Most patients had a reduction of pain, improvement of mobility of the elbow or wrist joint, especially an improvement of supination/pronation, regarded as an index of correction of a malrotation. Postoperative physiotherapy has to be most careful; the best physiotherapy is the everyday active use of the arm by the patient himself.