Postoperative Management of Kirschner-Wire Fixation of All Phalangeal and Metacarpal Fractures at a Single Tertiary Care Center: A Retrospective Review

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Introduction: Kirschner-wire (K-wire) fixation (KF) is the most common operative technique for hand fractures among Canadian plastic surgeons. However, postoperative rehabilitation varies widely and rely on low-quality studies and expert opinion. The study reviewed KFs of phalangeal and metacarpal fractures at a single academic center to quantify practice variation and patient outcomes. Methods: This retrospective chart review analyzed all cases of KF of isolated phalangeal and metacarpal fractures performed by all plastic surgeons at a single tertiary care center in the last 7 years. The primary outcome was the duration from operation to K-wire removal. Secondary outcomes included the time from KF to range of motion (ROM) initiation, the interval between K-wire removal and ROM initiation, postoperative complications, and functional outcomes. Results: Among 289 patients, mean time from KF to K-wire removal was 28.6 days (SD 8.2). There was a high variability among the surgeons, with the shortest duration averaging 26 ± 6 days and the longest averaging 33.7 ± 8.6 days ( P < .001). Mean time to initiation of ROM was similar across surgeons (mean 25.2 ± 11.4 days). Postoperative complications occurred in 26 patients (10.9%), primarily pin site infections (6.7%). Early versus late K-wire removal did not affect complication rates. There were no differences in functional outcomes between surgeons. Conclusion: There is considerable variability in postoperative rehabilitation following KF of hand fractures among surgeons at a single academic center. Our study suggests that supervised ROM can be initiated safely as early as 3 weeks postoperatively, regardless of whether K-wires remain in situ.

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