Refracture of bones of the forearm after the removal of compression plates

Of thirty-seven patients who had sixty-two diaphyseal plates removed from the forearm after fixation of a fracture, seven patients had a refracture, two of whom refractured both bones of the forearm. Six of the seven refractures were in patients who initially had had a fracture of both bones, and all were in patients in whom the original fracture had been caused by major trauma. The interval from the time of removal of the plate to refracture ranged from forty-two to 121 days. Only one of the seven patients who had a refracture had had adequate compression of the original fracture. The average interval from the time of the original trauma to internal fixation was two days in six patients who had a refracture and who originally had had primary plating, compared with 8.5 days in the patients who did not have a refracture. One of the seven patients who had a refracture had originally had delayed plating after closed treatment had failed. In retrospect, radiolucency at the site of the original fracture was seen in most patients when the plate was removed.