Treatment of Volar Barton's fractures of the distal radius with T-buttress plates

Aim to evaluate the functional and radiological results of treating unstable volar barton's fractures of the distal radius with the t-buttress plate.methods: this was a retrospective study at orthopedic complex in bahawal victoria hospital from january 2009 to august 2010. we used open reduction and internal fixation with a 3.5mmt-buttress plates in volarly displaced,intraarticular fractures of the distal radius which were judged irreducaible or in which closed reduction failed. the volar tilt,radial length,articular step-off and intraarticular gap between fragments were improved after surgery. we included 43 patients,comprising 36 men and 7 women with a mean age of 31 years (range from 20-56 years). preoperative,postoperative,and final follow-up radiographs were compared. the time to initiation of active range of motion was determined. final follow-up range of motion and complications were reported. mean follow-up time after injury was 15.5 months (range 12-24 months).results: at final functional assessment,the scores of 13 patients were excellent,23 patients good,and 7 patients fair according to a criteria described by gartland and werley. no non-union or infection occurred. five patients had slight finger contraction and rupture of the flexor pollicis longus tendon occurred in two patients.conclusion: treatment of volar barton's fractures of the distal radius with a 3.5mm t-buttress plates leads to satisfactory results,provided the operative technique is carefully performed to prevent complications. © 2014 pakistan journal of medical and health sciences. all rights reserved.