대한수부외과 학회지
발행정보 Year : 1999, Volume : 4, Number : 1, page : 35 ~ 41  

The outcome after treatment with external fixators for severe comminuted distal radial fractures has been previously reported but the correlation between the outcome and the amount or duration of distraction was not defined. We studied two groups of patients treated with external fixators for severe comminuted distal radial fractures. Group I consisted of 22 patients who had maintained the distraction until the removal of external fixators, and group II consisted of 10 patients who had been relieved of the distraction at postoperative 2 weeks. The carpal height index was used to quantify the distraction. The outcomes in the two groups were compared by both subjective and objective evaluations in all the patients of the two groups. Prolonged excessive distraction often led to poor outcome due to pain, limited range of motion and other complications, but relief of distraction gave well-controlled results.