Use of the wide-awake local anaesthetic no tourniquet in the management of distal radius fractures.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the Wide-Awake Local Anaesthesia with No Tourniquet (WALANT) method in fixation of distal radial fractures.

METHODS

Forty patients admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, Pakistan were recruited from March 2017 to December 2018. All patients had a distal radial fracture which was appropriate for internal fixation with a locked volar distal radial plate. The surgical site was infiltrated to achieve tumescent local anaesthesia using a solution of 0.9% normal saline and 1% lidocaine with 1:1,000,000 epinephrine. The patients were followed up until fracture union and were evaluated clinically, with goniometry, radiologically and with standard outcome scores (Mayo and qDASH).

RESULTS

The patients were marginally more male than female (55% versus 45%), and mostly the dominant hand was injured (65%). The mean time to union was just over 3 months (15.2 weeks). All were united by 11 months. Good outcomes were achieved at final review with mean qDASH and Mayo scores of 13.3 and 81.6 respectively. The mean flexion and extension range at finalreview was 64 and 53 degrees respectively, and the mean grip strength was 73% when compared with the opposite side.

CONCLUSIONS

The WALANT technique seems to be an acceptable and safe technique for fixation of distal radial fractures. There seem to be added benefits in terms of costs, reduced disposables, and intra-operative assessment of active movement.