Diaphyseal fractures of the forearm have accompanied humanity throughout its history.
Nonsurgical techniques dominated the treatment for centuries, and complications including
nonunion and malunion were common. The 19th century featured the recognition of distinct
injury patterns. With the development of anesthesia and antisepsis, the operative
treatment became widespread. In 1878, Heine described fixation of the diaphyseal nonunion
of the distal ulna using an intramedullary ivory peg. Parkhill reported on the application
of external fixation for forearm fractures in 1897–1898. Hansmann published the case
of plate osteosynthesis of an acute fracture of the radius in 1886. In 1913, Schöne
published the technique of closed intramedullary fixation of diaphyseal fractures
of the forearm using a silver wire. During the first 2 decades of the 20th century,
plate osteosynthesis quickly spread across Europe and North America owing to the influence
of Lambotte and Lane. After the World War II, plate osteosynthesis became the surgical
treatment of choice for forearm diaphyseal fractures.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 12, 2013
Accepted:
June 10,
2013
Received:
January 7,
2013
Footnotes
No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
