[Fixation of fractures of the fifth metacarpal (author's transl)]

Abstract

The authors describe the treatment which they recommend for fractures of the fifth metacarpal. After a brief description of fractures of the proximal end of the diaphysis and of the head of the bone, they study in detail fractures of the neck of the fifth metacarpal. They found that conservative treatment is not very successful but that internal fixation tends to have iatrogenic complications. They recommend a transverse pinning of the bone after reduction by manual traction. Two or three pins are driven from the fifth to the fourth metacarpal through the head and the shaft. This treatment allows early mobilisation.