Treatment of distal radius fractures with percutaneous pinning

Abstract

Background Distal radius fracture is one of the common injuries seen in casualty and can be managed by closed reduction and percutaneous pinning. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the functional results following management of distal radius fractures by percutaneous wire fixation. Materials and methods This study was conducted between June 2014 and June 2017 and included seventy closed distal end radius fractures in 70 patients, comprising 40 (57.14%) males and 30 (42.86%) females. All were managed with closed reduction and percutaneous Kirschner wires fixation. Results The average follow-up was 18 months (range: 12–24 months). All the fractures healed within 10–14 weeks. A total of 36 (51.4%) cases got excellent score, 18 (25.7%) cases were good, 12 (17.1%) cases were fair, and four (5.7%) cases were poor. Most of the patients returned to their preinjury activity level with a 90.7% satisfaction rate. There were 10 cases that experienced pin tract infection and were treated by antibiotic. Conclusion Percutaneous pinning is a simple, minimally invasive technique and is aimed at preventing redisplacement of the distal radius fracture fragments to provide sound bone healing and achieve good radiological and functional results.