Intramedullary nailing vs. palmar locked plating for unstable dorsally comminuted distal radius fractures: A biomechanical study

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to compare the stability of a 2.4 mm palmar locking compression plate and a new intramedullary nail-plate-hybrid Targon DR for dorsally comminuted distal radius fractures. Methods An extraarticular 10 mm dorsally open wedge osteotomy was created in 8 pairs of fresh frozen human radii to simulate an AO–A3-fracture. The fractures were stabilized using one of the fixation methods. The specimens were loaded axially with 200 N and dorsal-excentrically with 80 N. 2000 cycles of dynamic loading and axial loading-to-failure were performed. Findings Axial loading revealed that intramedullary osteosynthesis (Targon DR: 369 N/mm) was significantly ( p …