FUNCTION 10 YEARS AFTER COLLES FRACTURE

There are no data in the literature concerning the outcome of Colles' fracture beyond six years. One hundred consecutive patients with displ aced Colles' fractures were reviewed ten years after the injury. Funct ion, radiographic anatomy, osteoarthrosis, and reflex sympathetic dyst rophy (algodystrophy) were all objectively assessed. By the time of th is review, 35 patients had died. Eighty-five percent of those survivin g had a satisfactory outcome. Forty-two percent had improved functiona lly in ten years and 20% had deteriorated. Initial and ten-year radial shortening and early finger stiffness significantly correlated with f inal outcome. Dorsal angulation influenced early but not ten-year func tion. Sixty-two percent of those with an unsatisfactory result had obj ective features of reflex sympathetic dystrophy, compared with only 6% of those with a satisfactory result. Osteoarthrosis was found in 37%, but in only 4% was it associated with an unsatisfactory outcome.