To evaluate the radiologic and clinical results of percutaneous transverse fixation with K-wires for 5th metacarpal neck fracture.

Between January 2007 and September 2010, 18 patients with a 5th metacarpal neck fracture, who underwent operative treatment, were included in this study. The surgical method was percutaneous transverse fixation using K-wires. We evaluated fracture angulation in oblique radiographs preoperatively, postoperatively, and at final follow-up, and used SPSS to perform statistical analysis. We also performed clinical evaluation using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score.

All of the 18 cases were completely united, and in the oblique radiographs, the angulation was corrected from 50.69° to 11.68°. The average difference between postoperative and final follow-up angulations was 0.14°, which was statistically insignificant. Clinically, the DASH score was 1.030 and no complications were observed.

Percutaneous transverse fixation using K-wires could be one of the best ways to treat a 5th metacarpal neck fracture because of its simple method and low rate of complications.