Apparatus and method for treatment of comminuted Colles' fracture

Claim 1

A surgical apparatus for providing a portable, dynamic traction assembly for treatment of a comminuted Colles' fracture which comprises: a cast received over a patient's forearm; a pair of first and second, stainless steel bone screws having self-tapping points and being about seven sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter, said first screw having a threaded portion about one inch in length and having an eye portion, said second screw having a threaded portion about one and one-half inches in length, said first and second bone screws being for insertion into the second metacarpal and the ulna, respectively, said second bone screw being incorporated within said cast; a stainless steel wire bow having a pair of straight side portions having first and second ends, each of the first ends of the side portions including a plaster attaching configuration to facilitate securement of the first ends into a cast fitted to a person's forearm, said bow further including a generally V-shaped intermediate portion extending between the second ends of the side portions; and an elongated, elastic material for connection between the center of the intermediate portion of said wire bow and said first bone screw.

Claim 6

The method for treating a communited Colles' fracture of a patient by provision of a portable, dynamic traction assembly which comprises the steps of: a. making a closed reduction of the patient's fracture under anesthesia; b. suspending the patient's forearm in a generally vertical position; c. preparing the hand and forearm with aseptic technique and draping the forearm with a sterile towel; d. making stab incisions over the base of the second metacarpal shaft in the back of the hand and also over the proximal ulnar shaft over the subcutaneous border of the ulna adjacent the elbow; e. drilling the second metacarpal and the ulna through both cortices with a drill of about seven sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter; f. inserting a first bone screw into the second metacarpal and a second bone screw into the ulna adjacent the patient's elbow, the bone screws being stainless steel, self-tapping and about seven sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter, said first bone screw having a threaded portion about one inch in length and having an eye portion, said second screw having a threaded portion about one and one-half inches in length; g. closing the incisions around the bone screws; h. applying a short, well-padded, cylindrical plaster cast to the patient's forearm incorporating the second bone screw and extending to about two to three inches above the wrist; i. incorporating into the cast a stainless steel wire bow having a pair of straight side portions having first and second ends, each of the first ends of the side portions including a plaster attaching configuration to facilitate securement of the first ends into the cast the bow further including a generally V-shaped intermediate portion extending between the second ends of the side portions, said incorporating including securing the plaster-attaching first ends of the side portions within the cast; and j. connecting an elongated, elastic material between the center of the intermediate portion of the wire bow and the eye of the first bone screw to apply a traction force on the first bone screw.

Claim 7

The method for treating a communited Colles' fracture of a patient by provision of a portable, dynamic traction assembly which comprises the steps of: a. making a closed reduction of the patient's fracture under anesthesia; b. suspending the patient's forearm in a generally vertical position; c. preparing the hand and forearm with aseptic technique and draping the forearm with a sterile towel; d. making stab incisions over the base of the second metacarpal shaft in the back of the hand and also over the proximal ulnar shaft over the subcutaneous border of the ulna adjacent the elbow; e. drilling the second metacarpal and the ulna through both cortices with a drill of about seven sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter; f. inserting a first bone screw into the second metacarpal and a second bone screw into the ulna adjacent the patient's elbow, the bone screws being stainless steel, self-tapping and about seven sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter, said first bone screw having a threaded portion about one inch in length and having an eye portion, said second screw having a threaded portion about one and one-half inches in length; g. closing the incisions around the bone screws; h. applying a short, well-padded, cylindrical plaster cast to the patient's forearm incorporating the second bone screw and extending to about two to three inches above the wrist; i. incorporating into the cast a stainless steel wire bow having a pair of straight side portions having first and second ends, each of the first ends of the side portions including a plaster attaching configuration to facilitate securement of the first ends into the cast the bow further including a generally V-shaped intermediate portion extending between the second ends of the side portions, said incorporating including securing the plaster-attaching first ends of the side portions within the cast; and j. connecting an elongated, elastic material between the center of the intermediate portion of the wire bow and the eye of the first bone screw to apply a traction force on the first bone screw.