Mechanical comparison of fixed angle locking volar plate and K-wire fixation of distal radius fractures

We compared in this study closed reduction and percutanous K-wire fixation of unstable distal radius fracture with open reduction and internal fixation using locking volar plates in regards to the efficiency in retaining the reduction. X-ray pictures of 68 patients in the plate group and of 72 patients in the K-wire group were evaluated retrospectively. We did not find any significant loss of reduction after 6 weeks in the plate group, while in the wire group changes in both volar tilt, radial inclination and ulnar variance were significant (p < 0.001). The differences in these values were significant between the two groups both postoperatively and at 6 weeks. ORIF with locking volar plate yields superior radiological results when compared with K-wire fixation.