BOSTON — High rates of healing and similar range of motion were seen in cases of distal radius fracture treated with open reduction and internal fixation and concomitant ulna fracture whether the distal ulna was treated either operatively or nonoperatively, according to a presentation at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.

“[We] did not find a benefit to operative management of the distal ulna,” Kevin Lutsky, MD, said during his presentation. “There were no nonunions in the ulna-no [fixation] group and no substantial benefit in terms of range of motion outcomes. Radiographic alignment was similar between groups. Our data do not provide firm guidelines on when the distal ulna fracture requires fixation, but we would suggest the residual growth and stability after stabilization of the radius is a reasonable indication.”