Clinical application of a novel external fixator for distal radius fracture

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of our self-developed dynamic external fixator for treating distal radius fracture by means of wrist joint radiographic and functional perspectives.Methods The external fixator was used in 12 cases with distal radius fracture. AO classifications were type B1 in 2 cases,type C1 3 cases,type C2 3 cases and type C3 4 cases.The patients were followed up for 3～6 months after surgery.Three months following the surgery,the movement range of the wrist joint and its radiographic indexes were measured,and the efficacy of our external fixator was evaluated by Sarmiento method. Results Three months after the surgery,compared with that of the normal hand,no significant difference was seen in the movement range of treated wrist joint with a recovery percentage of 81.6%~95.4%,and in the radial height and radial inclination with a recovery percentage of 87.9%~89.8%.Yet the recovery of the palm tilt of treated joint was 68.2%,which was significantly smaller than that of the normal(P0.05).Sarmiento functional evaluation was excellent in 5 cases,good in 6 cases,and average in 1 case,and the assessment of reduction was excellent in 6 cases,good in 5 cases,and average in 1 case.Conclusion Our novel external fixator can effectively maintain the reduction for distal radius fracture,and restore the functions of the wrist joint.