A comparison of the open reduction-internal arthroplasty techniques in treatment of Mason Type 3 radial head fractures

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to retrospectively compare a series of patients surgically treatedwith ORIF or early resection arthroplasty due to isolated comminuted radial head fractures.Methods: Between the years 2009 and 2013, 34 patients with isolated comminuted fractures of the radialhead (Mason Type 3) had been operated (ORIF in 19 patients, resection arthroplasty in 15 patients). Themean age of the patients in the ORIF group was 38.5 years and 54 years in the resection group. Thecarrying angle (CA) and ulnar variance were measured bilaterally, and radiographs were reviewed fordegenerative elbow arthritis. The Mayo elbow performance score, Turkish version of the Disabilities ofthe Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH-T) and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to evaluatethe clinical results.Results: The mean follow-up period in the ORIF group was 40.2 months and 44.4 months in the resectiongroup. In the ORIF group, 11 patients were clinically rated excellent, six good, and two fair. In theresection group, seven patients had excellent,Şve had good, and two had fair scores. We did not Şnd astatistically signiŞcant difference between the ORIF and resection groups regarding the clinical andradiological outcomes.Conclusion: With these short-term results, resection arthroplasty may be considered an effective methodin the treatment of isolated comminuted radial head fractures, as it is less technically demanding and italso allows for early postoperative motion. However, the patients should be evaluated in detail, regardingligamentous injuries prior to resection arthroplasty.Level of evidence: Level III, Therapeutic study.© 2016 Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This isan open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).