Anatomical considerations of the radius bone and its clinical implications in design of modular radial head prostheses in Indian population

Dr Anant Kumar Garg; Dr Nitin Kumar

Volume : VII, Issue : IV, April - 2018

Anatomical considerations of the radius bone and its clinical implications in design of modular radial head prostheses in Indian population

Dr Anant Kumar Garg, Dr Nitin Kumar

Abstract :

Radial head prostheses have found a definite place in the treatment of complex radial head fractures.. Inadequate sizing of radial head prostheses may lead to an inadvertent change in proximal radial length, with potentially adverse effects on elbow, forearm, and wrist mechanics. The main reason for this mismatch is because of very few study in literature described the anatomical data for design of radial head prostheses. The aim of this anthropometric study is to describe the anatomic features of the proximal end of the radius, then correlating the findings among themselves and compare with values found in literatures to make an idea for radial head arthroplasty in Indian population.

Materials and Methods: The sixty samples comprised of 30 right-sides and 30 left-side human radius were measured for anatomical parameters. Statistical analyses were done to know the average the values of anatomical parameters.

Results: A mean value of 240 mm, 10.06 mm, 22.04 mm were found for total radial length, radial head height, and radial head (anteroposterior) diameter respectively. The mean of 20.2 mm was found for radial neck length. Medullary canal diameter presented a variation from 5.4 mm to 9.8mm, with a mean of 7.2 mm�

Conclusion: it is feasible to design an anatomic radial head prosthesis that will match patients� variable anatomy and restoration of radiocapitellar and proximal radioulnar kinematics, thus decreasing the likelihood of long-term complication of radial head arthroplasty. Results of our study help in design of anatomic radial head prosthesis for radial head arthroplasty in Indians.