Outcome Analysis of Metacarpal and Phalangeal Fixation Techniques at Bellevue Hospital

Purpose Phalangeal fractures represent a significant portion of upper extremity injuries but are not well studied as a single entity. We define our approach at a level 1 trauma center and determine whether plating or lag screws (ie, rigid fixation) have superior functional outcomes compared with Kirschner wire fixation for phalangeal or metacarpal fractures. Methods We performed a systematic review of all surgically managed hand fracture cases at Bellevue Hospital during 2012 and 2013. Demographics, type of fixation, length of operation, period of immobilization, range of motion, time to return to work, and complications including reoperation were noted. Comparisons were assessed for significance using Student t tests and Fisher exact test (P 0.05). Total active motion and return to work were similar regardless of type of intervention in both fracture types. No patients treated with rigid fixation required reoperation. Conclusions To our best knowledge, this is the first review to study phalangeal fractures concurrently but also separately from metacarpal fractures. Despite shorter periods of immobilization, rigid fixation does not appear to lead to improved total active motion or time to return to work.