[Treatment of fractures of the forearm in adults; present state (author's transl)].

Conservative treatment of fractures of the forearm is no longer in all cases the method of choice. It is only still acceptable in stable diaphyseal fractures of the radius or the ulna. In all other cases plate osteosynthesis should be performed. The interpretation of a questionnaire recording 261 forearm fractures collected from 18 Traumatological Depts of the GDR permits the conclusion that compression plating will yield the best results in cases of instable or open fractures of the forearm.