Acute volar compartment syndrome of the forearm secondary to fractures of the distal radius.

We present five cases of acute volar compartment syndrome developing as a complication of fractures of the distal radius. The patients were all males under the age of 50 years who sustained comminuted or displaced fractures of the distal radius. We suggest that this indicates an 'at risk' group. The interval between injury and the onset of symptoms of volar compartment syndrome varied between 12 and 48 hours. The diagnosis of each case was made clinically and confirmed at operation. With early extensive decompression full neurovascular recovery can be expected.