title: Quality of life after volar locked plating: a 10-year follow-up study of patients with intra-articular distal radius fractures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to present functional results and patient's health related quality of life (HRQOL) data ten years after volar locked plate fixation (VPF) of unstable intra-articular distal radial fractures (DRF).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine patients with a mean age of sixty-one years were operatively treated with VPF after intra-articular distal radial fractures. They were evaluated two, six, and ten years postoperatively according to the Gartland and Werley score. For subjective evaluation the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaires were adopted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, wrist function did not differ significantly two, six and ten years after the operation. Over 90% patients achieved "good" or "excellent" results ten years after surgery according to the Gartland and Werley score. Ten years postoperatively the results of the SF 36 did not differ significantly from the two- and six-year follow-up. Overall findings from the SF-36 did not differ significantly from the data of Austrian and American norm populations. Only in the subscale of mental health (MH) the ten-year follow-up did show significantly poorer results (p = 0.045) compared to the Austrian norm population. The median DASH scores did not show significant differences during the ten-year follow-up period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ten-year results of this single-center study suggest that operative treatment of intra-articular DRF with volar locked plates is a useful and satisfactory therapy option, both in terms of function and HRQOL.
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Ruckenstuhl
authors: Gerwin A
authors: GA
authors: Bernhardt
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Sadoghi
authors: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 5-7, Graz 8036, Austria. mathias.glehr@medunigraz.at.
authors: Mathias
authors: M
authors: Glehr
authors: Lukas A
authors: LA
authors: Holzer
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Leithner
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Wolf
authors: Gerald
authors: G
authors: Gruber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001317:Austria; D001860:Bone Plates; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011788:Quality of Life; D011885:Radius Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome