Results of wrist hemiarthroplasty for comminuted distal radius fractures in independent elderly people: A retrospective study on eleven patients.

The comminuted distal radius fractures among elderly people are usually linked to osteoporosis, and repairing them in this context is a therapeutical challenge. Several teams have reported good results of radius resurfacing. The goal of our study was to evaluate the usability of the wrist in a new series of patients after surgery. We performed a monocentric retrospective study on the data of the medical files. All the included patients were older than 65 years and received a wrist hemiarthroplasty according to the criteria that have been established by the in charge medical team. Eleven patients have been included, their average age was 80.4 years old, and the average follow-up was 18.3  months. The average QuickDASH Score was 59 (27-95). The Visual Analogue Scale for pain was in average 3.8/10 and the average mobility was: flexion 36° (12-50), extension 27° (12-50), radial deviation 15° (12-15), ulnar deviation 26° (12-40), pronation-supination range of motion 164° (150-170). The average measured strength was 44% (16-72%) of the strength of the unaffected hand. Our results are rather modest, probably because of insufficient follow-up and very severe fractures. Furthermore, the implant that has been used does not take into account the distal radioulnar joint. Another bound of this treatment is the complexity of surgical revision in case of bad result. So far, hemiarthroplasty cannot be considered as the standard treatment for complex fractures of the distal radius.