COMPARATIVE CLASSIFICATION FOR FRACTURES OF THE DISTAL END OF THE RADIUS

As suggested by Muller, a useful classification system for distal radi us fractures must consider the severity of the bone lesion and serve a s a basis for treatment and for evaluation of out come. Although these fractures have long been considered to be Colles or Smith's fractures , they have been subjected to extensive scrutiny in order to define fr acture morphology and treatment considerations. This review highlights a number of contemporary classification systems for distal radius fra ctures, including the systems of Older et al., the Comprehensive Class ification of fractures, the Melone intra-articular classification syst em, and that of Fernandez.