Assistant Professor, Sri Lakhsmi Narayana Institute of Medical Science, Villianur, Puducherry, India
Fracture ,Surgery ,Orthopaedics ,

In distal radial fractures, the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) is a soft-tissue structure that is often injured. A TFCC injury occurred in 63 percent of the specimens in a cadaveric sample where a hyperextension force was applied to cadaveric wrists before a distal radial fracture occurred. The rate of TFCC injury associated with distal radial fractures has been stated to be anywhere between 35 and 78 percent.We performed a prospective single-center review of patients with distal radial fractures after receiving approval from the Ministry of Health Ethical Committee. Distal radial fractures in adults aged 16 to 65 years requiring operative care were the inclusion criteria. Distal radial fractures with postreduction radial shortening > 3 mm, dorsal angulation > 10, or intra-articular displacement > 2 mm required surgical fixation.Descriptive statistics were calculated and are interpreted as means and percentages, as well as minimal and maximal values, using SPSS Statistics for Windows. To compare between-group differences in characteristics, as well as between-group differences in baseline pain and impairment (with 95 percent confidence intervals), a 2-sample t test was used. To assess statistically significant differences in outcomes between two classes, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. Statistical significance was described as a P value of less than.There was no major difference in the two groups' characteristics in terms of patient age (P 14.0528), severity of the injury according to the ArbeitsgemeinschaftfürOsteosynthesefragen classification (P 14.873), presence of an intra-articular fracture (P 14.594), or presence of an ulnar styloid fracture (P 14.4364).According to Palmer's classification, 6 patients had a central TFCC perforation (type IA), 9 had an ulnar lesion (type IB), 4 had a distal lesion of the ulnolunate or ulnotriquetral ligaments (IC), and 26 had radial TFCC tears (ID).The current research shows that patients who have a distal radial fracture and a TFCC injury have poorer outcomes than those who do not have a TFCC injury. When treating distal radial fractures, surgeons and hand therapists must accept not only bone reduction and fixation, but also TFCC injuries as a possible cause of increased pain and impairment. For these related injuries in distal radial fractures, wrist arthroscopy may be used as a diagnostic and therapeutic method

2 , 2 , 2012