Volar locking plate: Age related outcomes and complications

There is no unanimity for the treatment of distal radius fractures in older people. The purpose of our study is to assess the efficacy of volar locking plate for the treatment of unstable distal radius fractures in older independent individuals.

A retrospective comparative study of 105 patients. 58 patients were below the age of 55 years and 47 above the age of 55 years. Mean follow-up was 18.4 months in patients below the age of 55 years and 18.1 months above the age of 55 years. Wrist movements, complications, reoperations, grip strength, Visual Analogue Score (VAS) for pain, Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score, and Mayo wrist score were analysed.

There was no statistical difference in the wrist movements, grip strength, complications, reoperations, VAS, QuickDASH and Mayo scores. Mean grip strength under 55 was 84.1 and above 55 was 84.5 (p = 0.87). The complication rate was 19.1% above 55 years of age and 17.2% below the age of 55years (p = 0.79). The reoperation rate above 55 years was 8.5% and below 55 years was 8.6% (p = 0.50). Mean VAS under 55 years of age was 1.6 and above 55 years was 1.7 (p = 0.58). Mean Mayo score in under 55 was 80.7 and 80.1 in above 55 (p = 0.78). Mean Quick DASH score under 55 was 20.9 and above 55 was 21.0 (p = 0.97).

Our results indicate that outcomes in older independent patients are satisfactory with a comparable complication and reoperation rate with younger individuals. We conclude that a volar locking plate is a favourable modality for the treatment of unstable distal radius fractures in older patients.