[Fractures of the distal radius. Minimally invasive pin fixation: indications and results].

Therapy of distal radius fractures in the elderly is increasingly subject to higher demands on functional results, especially in terms of patient comfort, load-bearing, tissue atrophy, and osteoporosis. From 1 January 1998 until 30 June 1999, 215 patients with distal radius fractures were treated at our hospital. One hundred eighteen of them had follow-up examinations after an average of 33 months. Using objective criteria (X-ray and functional), results were very good in 68.9% of the cases and good in 28.6%. Under subjective criteria, too, most of the patients had very little or no complaints (68%). These results underline the need and usefulness of differentiating operative therapies according to the fracture type in the AO classification system.