Which fracture is a distal radius fracture with dorsal displacement, commonly resulting from a fall on an outstretched hand (FOOSH)?

• A. Colles fracture
• B. Boxer’s fracture
• C. Hangman’s fracture
• D. Smith fracture

Answer: (A)

The situation describes an extension injury of the wrist after a fall on an outstretched hand, which causes the distal radius to fracture with the distal fragment displaced dorsally (toward the back of the hand). This pattern is classic for a Colles fracture, often giving the characteristic dinner‑fork deformity on appearance and X‑ray. It’s the extension-type distal radius fracture most commonly seen in older adults with weaker bones.

In contrast, a Smith fracture is the same bone but with the distal fragment displaced toward the palm (ventral displacement), typically from a fall on a flexed wrist or a direct blow to the dorsum. A Boxer’s fracture involves fracture of the neck of a fifth metacarpal from punching, not the distal radius. Hangman’s fracture is a cervical spine injury (fracture of the pars interarticularis of C2) from hyperextension, not at the wrist.