UNCTIONAL AND CLINICAL OUTCOME OF FRACTURES OF THE HAND MANAGED BY MINI EXTERNAL FIXATOR

Abstract

Introduction: Hand fractures can be worsened by deformity caused by insufcient management, stiffness caused by excessive treatment, and both deformity and stiffness caused by inadequate treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the functional and clinical outcome of mini external xator-treated hand fractures. Fifty patients suffering from hand fractures were enrol Methodology: led in the trial. All the patients underwent a comprehensive history and clinical and radiological assessment, including demographic information such as age, gender, occupation, x-ray, etc. The functional outcome was calculated using the American society for surgery of the hand and total active exion (ASSH TAF)/Duncan's criteria and clinically evaluated. Most enrolled patients were between 35-44 years (34.0%). Results: Male predominance was seen, and RTA caused 70% of injuries. Fractures of type 2 Gustilo-Anderson were prevalent among patients, with the majority occurring in the right hand. The majority of patients had a transverse shaft x-ray [8(16.00%)], followed by a comminuted p. p. [6(12.00%)] and a comminuted mid shaft [6(12.00%)]. The most prevalent problem (44.00%) was stiffness. 46.00% had a good outcome, 34.00% had an excellent outcome, 12.00% had a fair outcome, and 8.00% had a poor outcome based on Duncan's criterion. The ndings demonstrate the efcacy of MEFs in esta Conclusion: blishing union and correct alignment of hand skeletons with minimal tissue trauma while retaining a good clinical outcome even in the most complex injuries. MEFs can be considered for all hand fractures requiring surgical treatment, especially in intra-articular and comminuted fractures.