This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by HART, A. J. Articles by AMIS, A. A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by HART, A. J. Articles by AMIS, A. A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Palmar Locking Compression Plate is Biomechanically Comparable to the Dorsal PI Plate for Dorsally Comminuted, Intraarticular Wrist Fractures

From the Department of Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery, Charing Cross Hospital, London, the Department of Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal London Hospital, London, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, and the Department of Musculoskeletal Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK

Correspondence: A.J Hart, Department of Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 8RF, UK. Tel.: +44 208 340 6733; fax: +44 127 982 7155. E-mail:alisterjhart{at}yahoo.com

A clinically appropriate fracture model and testing regimen were used to test the null hypothesis that a palmarly applied locking plate was inferior to a dorsally applied Pi plate in the stabilisation of dorsally comminuted intraarticular wrist fractures. Sixteen standardised fractures of Synbone models of the radius were stabilised using either a palmar locking compression T plate (the experimental group) (n = 8) or a dorsally applied Pi plate (the control group) (n = 8). The constructs were tested on an Instron materials testing machine. Deformation was monitored during 500 loading cycles to 200 N. The mean permanent deformation and stiffness favoured the palmar locking compression T plate over the dorsal Pi plate (P = 0.036). However, the absolute difference was only 0.5 mm. Such a small difference is unlikely to be clinically detectable and, therefore, we conclude that there is no clinically significant difference between the two types of fixation.

Key Words: intraarticular • wrist fracture • palmar • locking plate • Pi plate

Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume), Vol. 32, No. 4, 388-393 (2007)
DOI: 10.1016/J.JHSO.2007.03.014


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?