Distal Radius Fractures: Does a Radiologically Acceptable Reduction Really Change the Result?

Introduction: Distal radius fractures are common fractures which are treated by orthopaedic surgeons. However, they are complex injuries with a variable prognosis and if they are not treated optimally, they can be associated with various complications.

Methods And Materials: We studied 80 cases of closed distal radius fractures. These patients were treated and their X-rays were evaluated to determine whether the reduction was radiologically acceptable or not. These patients were then followed up at 1.5 and 3 months to evaluate them both radiologically as well as functionally by using the Modified Mayo Scoring System and the Gartland and Werley's Functional Scoring System.

Results: In our study, 68 patients had an acceptable reduction and 12 patients had an unacceptable reduction. All the fractures healed by the end of the study. The radiological parameters improved from the pre-operative to the immediate post-operative X-ray and all the parameters remained the same till 3 months of follow up. The grip strength improved during the 1.5 to the 3 months follow up. We observed that the trend of the final X-ray score correlated with the pre-treatment X-ray score: however, the functional outcome did not correlate with the X-ray scores.

Conclusion: We could not find any correlation between an acceptable reduction to a better functional outcome according to the G and W and the MM scores. We believe that a longer follow up will give us the true functional outcome of these patients and thus a true picture of the correlation between them.