Outcome Analysis of Fernandez Osteotomy in Malunited Extra-Articular Fractures of Distal Radius.

Deformity of wrist is very common after mal union of extra articular fractures over distal end of Radius. It causes limitation of movements too in different directions with or without pain. Deformity may be treated by different types of corrective osteotomy. We treated cases of this type of malunion with Fernandez osteotomy. This study is to observe the amount of correction and recovery of functional status in patients with malunited distal radius fractures treated with Fernandez osteotomy. This is a prospective study. We treated 10 cases of malunited radius with Fernandez osteotomy from February 2013 to October 2014 in the Departments of Orthopaedics, Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India. There were six males and four females with mean age of thirty years (with range from twenty to forty years. Indications for surgical intervention include pain and functional deficit severe enough to interfere significantly with daily activities. Radius is exposed through distal dorsal radial incision and radial osteotomy done two and half centimetre proximal to the wrist joint and after achieving correction; gap is filled with iliac bone graft and fixed with contoured distal radius T-plate. Follow up was for an average one year and three months. Results were excellent in one, satisfactory in four cases, good in four cases and bad in one case. Fernandez osteotomy is valuable option for correction of malunited distal radius fracture especially in young demanding patients.