New Research on Distal Radius Fractures

The journal HAND and the American Association for Hand Surgery are proud to provide this journal supplement on maladies of the distal radius. Although there is an abundance of literature on topics such as distal radius fractures, their management resides in an arena of unanimity.1-5 Treatment modalities have come and gone and returned again in the literature as refined techniques and indications are established through ongoing research in this field. Indeed, the pendulum of management of distal radius fractures is a byproduct of research on outcomes and patient satisfaction. Comparative studies have documented benefits and precautions with the use of external fixation, internal fixation, volar locking plates, dorsal plating, fragment-specific plating, bridging plates, Kirschner wire fixation, and intermedullary fixation. As technology expands, so does the market of various plating systems, which provides a greater battleground of comparative studies in an attempt to find the optimum solution for the superior outcomes of various patterns of distal radius fractures.6-10 The most common management of distal radius fractures is through a volar approach using fixed-angle plating systems, but this is not universal.2-5 The fracture pattern, surgeon preference and experience, and the literature orientation in any point in time guide hand surgeons in the management of distal radius fractures.11-16 The evidence for best practice needs to be regularly updated through scientific rigor and peer review, a process that has survived the test of time in the surgical world. For this reason, HAND has dedicated a supplemental issue to the research in distal radius fractures highlighting current trends, techniques, and outcomes for hand surgeon’s interpretation and resolution in their quest to provide the best possible prevailing care for their patients.