Hand and Finger Fractures: Repair With a Plate and Screws Animation

Hand and Finger Fractures: Repair With a Plate and Screws Animation

This animation demonstrates a fracture repair with a metal plate and screws used to treat hand and finger fractures. Here, we see a right hand with a fracture at the end of the third metacarpal, or long hand bone. First, an incision is made along the top of the hand. The size and location of the incision will vary depending on the fracture.

The broken bone is realigned, and a small metal pin is placed through the broken bone pieces to temporarily hold them in place. A drill guide is aligned over the fracture and temporarily held in place with another small metal pin. A ball-headed pin is also placed through the center hole of the guide to achieve the correct alignment. Then, a drill is inserted into the 2 openings next to each other at the end of the guide to drill 2 holes into the bone.

The ball-headed pin and guide are removed, and the appropriate-sized plate is selected and placed over the small metal pin and onto the bone. The 2 prongs at the end of the plate are aligned to fit into the 2 drilled holes. The small metal pin is removed, and another drill is used to drill a hole into the bone through 1 of the openings in the plate. An instrument called a depth gauge is then inserted to measure the drilled hole to determine the length of the screw that is needed.

The appropriate-sized screw is selected and inserted into the drilled hole. The same steps are repeated for additional screws to fill in the remaining holes in the plate, and the other small metal pin is removed. The skin incision will be closed with sutures, and the fracture repair is complete. Depending on the size and location of a hand or finger fracture, a variety of different plates can be used to repair the fracture.