It is a fracture of the distal to middle third of the radial shaft with dislocation of the Distal Radio-Ulnar Joint.
Typical mechanism of injury is a fall onto a outstretched hyperpronated forearm.
Estimated to represent 7% of adult forearm fractures.
This fracture requires surgical repair (Open reduction and internal fixation) in order to prevent presistant or recurrent dislocation of the distal ulnar which typically occurs with closed reduction techniques.
Associated with injury to the Anterior interosseous nerve which is a purely motor branch of the median nerve. Injury results in paralys of the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) and flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) to the index finger, resulting in loss of the pinch mechanism between the thumb and index finger.
To see a photo of a Galeazzi fracture please visit the Learning Radiology Website by clicking on the following link:
