Forearm fracture plates: to remove or not to remove.

Abstract

Eighty dynamic compression plates used to fix fractures of the radius and/or ulna were removed from 51 of 98 adult patients. Thirty-seven patients had plates removed electively. Fourteen patients had plates removed for clinical reasons. The average time from insertion to removal was 13.6 months, with a range from 4.4 to 36 months. Only one refracture occurred through the unhealed both bone forearm fracture site in a patient whose plate was taken out 6 months after surgery. One refracture also occurred through the proximal screw hole of a still implanted ulna plate that had been inserted 3 years earlier. Leaving a plate in for the remaining life of a young patient cannot be considered a benign decision considering the persisting chance for refracture and the potential complications from prolonged exposure to metal corrosion complexes and metal ions.