Clinical Assessment after the Volar Locking Plate Removal of Distal Radius Fracture

Hee-Chul Gwak; Joo-Yong Kim; Gyu-Min Kong; Jung-Won Kim; Jae-Yong Kwak; Dong-Gyun Kim

doi:10.12671/jkfs.2014.27.1.23

Journal List > J Korean Fract Soc > v.27(1) > 1037990

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Gwak, Kim, Kong, Kim, Kwak, and Kim: Clinical Assessment after the Volar Locking Plate Removal of Distal Radius Fracture

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Fracture Society 2014; 27(1): 23-28.

Published online: 17 January 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12671/jkfs.2014.27.1.23

Clinical Assessment after the Volar Locking Plate Removal of Distal Radius Fracture

Hee-Chul Gwak, M.D., Ph.D., Joo-Yong Kim, M.D., Gyu-Min Kong, M.D., Ph.D., Jung-Won Kim, M.D.^*, Jae-Yong Kwak, M.D., Dong-Gyun Kim, M.D.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.

^*Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seail Hospital, Busan, Korea.

Address reprint requests to: Joo-Yong Kim, M.D. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Inje University Pusan Paik Hospital, 75 Bokji-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan 614-735, Korea. Tel: 82-51-890-6257, Fax: 82-51-892-6619, honaud0@naver.com

Received 5 February 2013 Revised 6 July 2013 Accepted 12 October 2013

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes after removing the volar locking plate for distal radius fracture.

Materials and Methods

We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of 34 patients, 36 cases after removing the plates among 150 patients, with 162 cases that underwent open reduction and internal fixation using the volar locking plate between January 2006 and May 2011. We performed preoperative and postoperative clinical assessments using the quick-disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (Q-DASH), the visual analog scale (VAS) score, and the range of motion on wrist, grip and pinch power.

Results

The major reason for plate removal was the time to remove the plate according to the fracture union and the patient's demand without other specific complaints (28 cases). The mean preoperative VAS score was 1.78 and the mean postoperative VAS score 1.81 (p=0.64). The mean preoperative Q-DASH score was 30.02 and the mean postoperative Q-DASH score 38.46 (p<0.001). The mean preoperative grip and pinch power were 18.14 kg and 7.67 kg. The mean postoperative grip and pinch power were 15.27 kg and 6.94 kg (p=0.23).

Conclusion

The removal of the volar locking plate for distal radius fracture should be decided by considering the patient's clinical and socioeconomic conditions carefully.

Keywords: Distal radius fracture, Volar locking plate, Plate removal

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Demographic Data

Table 2

Clinical Results before and after the Operation for Plate Removal

Values are presented as mean±standard deviation. VAS: Visual analog scale, Q-DASH: Quick-disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand.

Notes

This work was supported by Grant from Inje University, 2010.

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