Distal radius fractures are common orthopedic injuries. Treatment has varied historically, but volar locking plating currently predominates. Although flexor tendon injury is a well-studied complication of this operation, extensor tendon injury is less well studied. The purpose of this review is to search the literature and present the epidemiology, presentation, and treatment of this complication. The Cochrane, EMBASE, PubMed, and SCOPUS databases were searched for the terms “volar” + “radius” + (“plate” OR “plating”) + “extensor.” Ninety final studies were included for analysis in this review. The incidence of extensor tendon rupture varies from 0% to 12.5%; the extensor pollicis longus is most commonly ruptured. The presentation and management of extensor tendon injury after injury, intraoperatively, and postoperatively are summarized. Radiographic views are described to detect screw prominence and minimize intraoperative risk. Extensor tendon injury after volar locking plate for distal radius fractures is an uncommon injury with several risk factors including dorsal screw prominence and fracture fragments. Removal of hardware and tendon transfers or reconstruction may be necessary to prevent loss of extensor mechanism.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is under-reported and pervasive in the orthopaedic surgical setting.Screening programs that could increase reporting and assist in treatment and prevention are commonly underutilized.There is little formalized education during orthopaedic surgery training for IPV.The incidence of IPV continues to increase in the setting of recent stressors, such as COVID-19, and the orthopaedic surgeon should play a role in the screening and identification of patients presenting with IPV injuries and provide resources and referral.

Background Volar locking plate fixation (VLP) is commonly used to treat distal radius fractures (DRF). Risk of dorsal compartment injury with distal screw hole fixation has been studied; however, the risk with proximal screw hole fixation is not well studied. Purpose The goal of this study was to investigate the risk of dorsal structure injury from the screw holes proximal to the two distal rows. Methods Nine cadaveric forearms were used. After volar distal radius exposure, a long VLP was applied. Kirschner wires were placed through the most proximal holes into the dorsal compartments. The extensor structures penetrated were noted and tagged with hemoclips. The distance from the dorsal cortex to the structures was measured. Results The abductor pollicis longus (APL) and extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) muscle bodies were only penetrated; no tendons were penetrated. Proportion of muscle penetration increased with the more proximal screw holes. EPB was more likely to be penetrated distally and APL proximally; both were injured at holes 2 and 3. The extensors were 2 mm from the dorsal cortex of the radius on average; this did not decrease with compression of the forearm. Conclusions This is the first study to examine the anatomic risk of extensor structure injury with VLP proximal screw hole penetration. No extensor tendons were penetrated by these proximal screw holes; first dorsal compartment muscle bellies may be irritated with overpenetration. Our findings suggest that proximal VLP screws do not need to be downsized if they are not over 2 mm prominent.

Purpose Robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty typically necessitates use of tracking pins, which can vary in diameter. Complications such as infections and fractures at the pin-site have been observed, but clarification of the effect of pin diameter on complication is needed. The aim of this study is to compare the pin-related complication rates following robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty between 4.5 mm and 3.2 mm diameter pins. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 90-day pin-site complication rates after robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty were compared between 4.5 mm diameter and 3.2 mm diameter groups. In total, 367 patients were included: 177 with large pin diameter and 190 with small pin diameter. All four pin sites were evaluated using postoperative radiographs. Cases without orthogonal views or visualization of all four pin tracts were noted. Multivariate logistic regression was used to control for age, which differed between the two cohorts. Results The rate of pin-site complications was 5.6% in the large pin diameter cohort and 2.6% in the small pin diameter cohort, with no statistically significant difference between the groups. The adjusted odds ratio for complications in small compared to large diameter group was 0.48, with a p-value of 0.18. The most common pin-site complication was infection/persistent drainage, found in 1.9% of patients, followed by intraoperative fracture of the second cortex in 1.4%. Intraoperative fracture could not be ruled out in 96 cases due to inadequate radiographic visualization of all pin sites. There was one postoperative pin-site fracture in the large diameter cohort, which required operative fixation. Conclusion This study demonstrates no statistically significant difference in pin-site complication rates after robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty between 4.5 mm and 3.2 mm pin diameter cohorts, although there was a trend towards increased intraoperative and postoperative pin-site fractures in the 4.5 mm group.