Reduction (Orthopedic Procedure)

Reduction is a medical procedure that restores the correct anatomical alignment of a fracture or dislocation, sometimes called setting the bone. Closed reduction realigns the bone through external manipulation without opening the skin, typically performed in an emergency department under local anesthesia, as with many wrist fractures, while open reduction is a surgical procedure that manipulates the bone internally through an incision and is often followed by fixation, in which hardware holds the bones in place while they heal. Both approaches use imaging such as X-rays before and after the procedure to confirm the misalignment and verify that realignment succeeded.