International Journal of Research in Orthopaedics | July-August 2017 | Vol 3 | Issue 4 Page 744 International Journal of Research in Orthopaedics Shah R et al. Int J Res Orthop. 2017 Jul;3(4):744-750 http://www.ijoro.org Original Research Article Comparison study for internal and external modes of fixation for fractures of distal end radius Ripple Shah 1 , Suril Shah 1 , Aalok Shah 1 , Sharvil Gajjar 1 *, Vijay Chaudhari 2 , Pratik Siddhapuria 2 INTRODUCTION Fractures of the distal radius continue to be one of the most common skeletal injuries treated by orthopedic or trauma surgeons. In fact, these injuries account for approximately one-sixth of all fractures seen and treated in emergency rooms. 1 These are most common fractures of the upper extremity. 2 The most common cause of this type of fracture is a fall on an outstretched hand. In young adults this fracture is the result of moderate to severe force such as a fall from a ABSTRACT Background: Fractures of the distal radius continue to be one of the most common skeletal injuries. The methods which are commonly practiced are closed manipulation and plaster cast, pins and plaster, percutaneous pinning, external fixation and open reduction and internal fixation with or without bone graft. Surgeons are increasingly faced with the dilemma of when to consider operative management and when cast immobilization is the optimal treatment. Methods: 47 cases of distal end radius fractures were operated in the orthopedic department of a tertiary care centre. The purpose of the present study was to compare the results of external and internal fixation methods for the treatment of fractures of distal end of radius. Patients operated by external fixation were classified as Group A and those operated by internal fixation were classified as group B. Patients were classified according to AO Classification. Patients were followed at regular intervals depending on the case and time of operation and evaluated by Gartland and Werley score. Results: In our study, 29 patients were of extraarticular type, of which 86.20% had an excellent score and 18 patients were of intraarticular type, of which 83.33% had an excellent score. But when compared to groups A and B, the percentage of excellent score obtained in group B was more than that in group A in both extraarticular and intraarticular fractures. Yuan-kun et al did a study on intraarticular distal end radius fractures and evaluated the patients by Gartland and Werley point system, concluding that plating gives better results than external fixation supplemented by K wiring. Conclusions: We concluded that no method of fixation can be said superior to the other. Each method has fracture- specific indication. The results of open reduction and internal fixation can be better than external fixation in initial months, but in the long run, both the methods can have excellent score, provided the fixation is good and properly indicated. Keywords: Distal radius, Gartland and Werley, Volar plating Department of Orthopaedics, 1 GCS medical college and hospital, Ahmedabad, 2 Govt Medical College, Surat, Gujarat, India Received: 15 April 2017 Revised: 23 April 2017 Accepted: 02 May 2017 *Correspondence: Dr. Sharvil Gajjar, E-mail: sharvilgajjar@yahoo.co.in Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2455-4510.IntJResOrthop20172032