Comparison of two operation methods in the treatment of child Galeazzi fracture

Abstract:

Objective：To compare the feasibilities of two operation methods of internal fixation with steel plate and Kirschner wire in the treatment of child Galeazzi fracture with conservative treatment failure. Methods：Fracture of radius in 51 cases was treated with steel plate internal fixation and Kirschner wire internal fixation after open reduction. Anatomic relationship of distal radioulnar joint or distal ulna bone epiphysis fracture was treated with manual reduction. Whether to adopt Kirschner wire to fix distal ulna bone epiph－ysis or distal radioulnar joint was decided based on the its stability，and external fixation by long arm plaster support in the elbow flex－ion was adopted for 4 to 6 weeks. Results：All cases in two groups were followed up with an average period of 15.6 months. Accord－ing to Berton evaluation，among the 28 cases in steel plate group，there were 9 excellent cases，17 good cases，2 middle cases and 0 poor case，with an effective and good rate of 92.9%. Among 23 cases in Galeazzi group，there were 5 excellent cases，9 good cases，7 middle cases and 2 poor cases with an effective and good rate of 60.9%. Statistical significant differences were observed between two groups（P=0.034）. Conclusion：Internal fixation with Kirschner wire combined with external fixation by long arm plaster support can achieve better fracture stability and better function of wrist and forearm in the treatment of child Galeazzi fracture with conservative treatment failure.