According to a study published online in The Journal of Hand Surgery, both volar locking plates and fragment-specific fixation may offer similar outcomes for treatment of primarily nonreducible or secondarily redisplaced distal radius fractures, although fragement-specific fixation may be linked to an increased risk of complication. 

The authors conducted a randomized, controlled trial of 50 adult patients who underwent open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) using volar locking plates (n = 25) or fragment-specific fixation (n = 25). At 12-month follow-up, they found no significant difference across cohorts in grip strength, range of motion, or median Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score. However, the overall complication rate was 21 percent in the volar locking plate group and 52 percent in the fragment-specific group. Learn more...