Fujii K, Henmi T, Kanematsu Y, Mishiro T, Sakai T and Terai T
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Health Insurance Naruto Hospital, Tokushima, Japan

The functional and anatomical results of distal end of radius fractures with severe displacement in 22 elderly patients are reviewed in this retrospective study. The mean age of the patients was 69.4 years (range, 60-88 years) and the mean follow-up period was 24 months (range, 12-53 months). According to the sum of demerit points (Saito, 1983), the latest follow-up functional end results were 'excellent' in 64% of fractures and 'good' in 36%. As for the anatomical results at follow-up, the average radial tilt was 20.7, ulnar variance was 4.0 mm, and palmar tilt was -2.7 respectively. Though most of the patients had satisfactory outcome and the functional results did not correlate with the radiographic evidence of minor deformities, the functional results of the patients with radial shortening of 6 mm or over were poor. Furthermore, the grip power was the most significant factor related to subjective evaluation and did not improve significantly in patients with the non-dominant hand injured.

Key words: fracture/distal end of radius; elder patient; comparative study; grip power