What fracture is present?
Fracture through the radial styloid with intra-articular involvement.
What names do you know for this fracture?
This is most commonly referred to as a chauffeur fracture but is also known as Hutchinson fracture, backfire fracture or lorry driver fracture.
Why the term chauffeur?
Trying to start an old-fashioned car with a hand crank sometimes resulted in the crank rapidly spinning backwards (backfire) out of the driver's grasp and striking the back of the wrist.
What injuries are frequently associated with this fracture?
Scapholunate dissociation (this is especially true when the fracture line involves the articlular surface near the scapholunate interval); trans-scaphoid perilunate dislocation; ulnar styloid fracture.
Do you know the Frykman classification system for distal radial fractures (trust me, it's ok if you don't). If you do, what type do chauffeur fractures fall into?
Type III, and type IV if an ulnar styloid fracture is also present.
How are these fractures usually treated?
Although these fractures are often undisplaced, they are relatively unstable and often benefit from percutaneous lag-screw fixation.
An intra-articular fracture of the radial styloid process is demonstrated, involving only the very tip of the styloid. It is only minimally displaced with a 1 mm articular gap. The ulnar styloid and the carpal bones appear intact, and the scapholunate interval and alignment of the carpus are unremarkable.