Acute plastic bowing of the radius with a distal radioulnar joint injury: a case report.

Acute plastic bowing is an incomplete fracture with a deformation that shows no obvious macroscopic fracture line or cortical discontinuity. Although cases of acute plastic bowing of the ulna with a dislocation of the radial head have been previously reported, we present here a rare case of acute plastic bowing of the radius with a distal radioulnar joint injury in a 16-year-old boy. Internal fixation of the detached fragment to the ulnar styloid and repair of the triangular fibrocartilagenous complex resulted in the disappearance of wrist pain. In cases of distal radioulnar joint injuries in children or adolescents, radiographs of the entire forearm should be taken to evaluate the existence of radial bowing.