Late extensor pollicis longus rupture following plate fixation in Galeazzi fracture dislocation

Dhananjaya Sabat; Vineet Dabas; Anil Dhal

doi:10.4103/0019-5413.136311

Late extensor pollicis longus rupture following plate fixation in Galeazzi fracture dislocation

Indian J Orthop. 2014 Jul;48(4):426-8. doi: 10.4103/0019-5413.136311.

Authors

Dhananjaya Sabat¹, Vineet Dabas¹, Anil Dhal¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Orthopedics, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India.

Abstract

Late rupture of extensor pollicis longus (EPL) tendon after Galeazzi fracture dislocation fixation is an unknown entity though it is a well-established complication following distal radius fractures. We report the case of a 55-year old male who presented with late EPL tendon rupture 4 months following internal fixation of Galeazzi fracture dislocation with a Locking Compression Plate (LCP). He was managed with extensor indicis proprius (EIP) transfer to restore thumb extension. At 4 years followup, functional result of the transfer was good. We identify possible pitfalls with this particular patient and discuss how to avoid them in future.

Keywords: Extensor pollicis longus rupture; Galeazzi fracture dislocation; Radius fractures; bone plates; bone screws; locking compression plate; tendon injury.