title: Interindividual anatomical variations affect the plate-to-bone fit during osteosynthesis of distal radius fractures.
abstract: We hypothesized that interindividual variations in the teardrop, which represents the volar projection of the lunate facet of the distal radius, cause unsatisfactory fitting of the volar locking plate to the bone. This can cause flexor tendon ruptures. Herein, we conducted a cross-sectional study and measured the ratio of teardrop height and the teardrop inclination angle as parameters of teardrop configuration for 200 standardized lateral radiographs (average age of the patients, 51 years). We also quantified the influence of the teardrop morphology by analyzing the fit of three locking plates to three radii with differing teardrop inclination angles using a three-dimensional computer-aided design system. The average ratios of the teardrop height and teardrop inclination angle were 0.42° (0.30-0.56°) and 28.8° (9.9-44.9°), respectively. The teardrop inclination angle was moderately correlated with age in men but not in women. In the plate-to-bone fit analyses, the fit of all the plates was significantly different between bones, with the configuration of the radius with the lowest teardrop inclination angle being the closest approximation to that of each plate. We demonstrated the interindividual variation in the shape of the teardrop and its influence on the fit of the volar plate, highlighting the importance of careful plate selection for achieving osteosynthesis of bones with a high teardrop inclination angle. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:953-960, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidemasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwatsuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hirata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D063405:Anatomic Variation; D001860:Bone Plates; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D011884:Radius / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D011885:Radius Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: distal radius fracture; locking plate; plate-to-bone fit; teardrop morphology; three-dimensional computer-aided design