Fractures of the distal radius (Colles' fracture)

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Although Colles' fracture is a common clinical situation for the orthopedist, we did not find any information in the literature that would allow safe decision-making on the best treatment for each fracture type. The aim of the present study was to investigate Brazilian orthopedists' opinions regarding the main aspects of treatments for Colles' fracture. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted during the 34th Brazilian Congress of Orthopedics and Traumatology. METHODS: Five hundred questionnaires containing 12 items were randomly distributed to orthopedists who were attending the congress; 439 were filled out correctly and were considered in this study. RESULTS: The main factors in making decisions on interventions in fracture cases were whether the fracture was intra-articular, the existence of shortening of the distal radius and the patient's age. The classification method most used was Frykmann. The closed reduction method most used was manual reduction. The principal surgical interventions were percutaneous pinning (39%), external fixation (27%) and volar plate (19%). Most of the interviewees only used bone grafts for osseous gaps in special cases. The most frequent complications were impairment of joint mobility and residual pain. CONCLUSIONS: Brazilian orthopedists have concordant opinions regarding conservative treatment methods and the use of bone grafts. There were conflicting opinions regarding surgical treatment methods, classification types and complications.