How is this kind of broken bone treated?

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How is this kind of broken bone treated?

Your healthcare provider will place your wrist in a splint and then refer you to an orthopaedic surgeon. Orthopaedic surgeons treat problems with your bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and soft tissues. You’ll likely need a surgical procedure called an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF).

An ORIF puts the bone fragments of your wrist back together. There are two steps:

  • Open reduction. The surgeon makes a cut, finds the broken bones and moves them back to where they were before the injury.
  • Internal fixation. The surgeon puts the bones together using pins, rods, plates, screws, or a combination.

Your healthcare provider might tell you to take medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®) to help with the pain.

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