External Fixator versus Pin and Plaster: The Approach to Distal Radius Fractures

distal radius fracture is the most common fracture of the long bones in adults and is quite prevalent amongst orthopedic patients. METHODS: This is a randomized clinical trial conducted with recruiting 70 patients suffered from comminuted distal radius fractures. The study was carried out in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Sari, Iran, in 2011 and 2012. RESULTS: All patients in the external fixator group (37 patients) showed the radiographic features of the union while only 29 patients in the pin & plaster group (93.5%) manifested evidence of union (p= 0.117). Only 4 patients (10.8%) in the external fixator group and 7 patients in the pin and plaster group had mal-union (p= 0.189). Eight patients (11.8%) had infection of the pin site, 2 patients (5.4%) in the external fixator and 6 patients (19.4%) in the pin and plaster group. CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, external fixator had fewer side effects in comparison to the pin and plasters surgery and is a preferred treatment for comminuted distal radius fractures. Moreover, this technique is associated with better clinical and functional outcome.