boxer's fracture

by Muhammad
(Johar Town, Pakistan)

On Sat Jul 07 16:58:26 2012, the following results were submitted from the "Online Medical Consultation" on abdopain.com:

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> First Name: Muhammad
> Last Name:
> E-mail Address: *****@live.com
> Street Address: Johar town
> City: lahore
> State/Prov: punjab
> Zip/Postal Code:54000
> Country: Pakistan
> Age and any medical problem?: 30, boxer's fracture
> Say it All here...: i had a fifth metacarpal neck fracture with voral angulation 3 weeks ago, and its still not properly aligned even after 3 week immobilization and manipulation but the doctor said its acceptable and i am not satisfied, what to do now?
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Hello Muhammad,

I am truly sorry to learn of your boxer's fracture.

The fracture you described is notoriously difficult to align back to normal. As long as there is no rotation, it often should not be a problem. This however depends on what you do for living or your hobbies - if there is a permanent deformity, is it one that will not likely affect your hobbies and work? Are you right or left handed, is the injury in your dorminant hand? These are the necessary considerations before you settle for any of the options.

If you think it is not acceptable, then there is the option of seeking a hand surgeon to do, most likely at this point, because of healing and re-modelling that must have taken place, an open reduction and internal or external fixation.

So, think carefully of the implications in terms of acceptable level of deformity you can tolerate, and the cost and risk of surgery and seek a hand surgeon's opinion.

I hope this helps, Muhammad.

Please do not hestitae to contact us again, should you require further information.


With Best Wishes,

Dr Edema

Abdopain.com