ORIGINAL ARTICLES BIOMECHANICAL EVALUATION OF PLATE OSTEOSYNTHESIS FOR AO TYPE C2 FRACTURE OF THE DISTAL RADIUS — A CADAVER STUDY

ABSTRACTAn AO type C2 distal radius fracture was simulated in a cadaver model by creating a metaphyseal defect of 5 mm and an intra-articular defect of 2 mm. Five different methods of plate osteosynthesis were tested biomechanically in each of six fresh cadaverichands. Biomechanical testing suggested that cement augmented plating plus screws in the distal fragment was the strongest.Dorsal and volar plating plus screws on both sides of the distal fragment had the same effect of restoring stiffness and loadtransmission pattern as fixation with double plating plus volar screws alone. Fixation with plating plus dorsal screws wassignificantly weaker than these three methods, and double buttress plating with no screws in the distal fragments was theweakest. Keywords : Fracture; Distal Radius; Fixation; Biomechanics.Correspondence to: Prof. S. P. Chow, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Queen Mary Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, HK SAR, PR China. Tel: (+852) 2855-4258,Fax: (+852) 2817-4392, E-mail:spchow@hkucc.hku.hk