ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of wrist arthroscopic transosseous footprint repair technique for treating triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) injury.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 56 patients with TFCC injury admitted to Shenzhen Second People′s Hospital from July 2017 to September 2020, including 38 males and 18 females, aged 17-45 years [(33.5±3.6)years]. All patients had unilateral injury. Physical examination showed instability of the distal radioulnar joint, and MRI and arthroscopy confirmed deep ligament injury of TFCC. All patients underwent repair of deep insertion of the TFCC by using wrist arthroscopic transosseous footprint. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, wound healing and postoperative complications were recorded. The flexion and extension range of motion of the wrist, radial and ulnal deviation of the wrist, rotation range of motion of the forearm, patient related wrist evaluation (PRWE) score, modified Mayo wrist score, visual analogue scale (VAS), and percentage of grip strength between the affected side and unaffected side were compared preoperatively, at 3 months postoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively.Results:All patients were followed up for 12-18 months [(13.4±5.2)months]. The operation time was (61.3±8.9)minutes, with the intraoperative blood loss of (2.4±1.2)ml. All wounds were healed by first intension. There was no wound infection or ulnar nerve irritation symptom after operation. Four patients experienced clicking on the ulnar side of the wrist in a short period of time post-operation, with spontaneous disappearance of the symptom. At 3 months postoperatively, the radial and ulnar deviation of the wrist was decreased from (52.5±5.9)° preoperatively to (42.6±5.9)°, and rotation range of motion of the forearm was decreased from (94.9±8.4)°preoperatively to (84.6±5.9)° (all P<0.01). The flexion and extension range of motion of the wrist was (93.1±17.4)° preoperatively, with insignificant difference compared with (89.4±5.8)° at 3 months postoperatively ( P>0.05). At 1 year postoperatively, the flexion and extension range of motion of the wrist, radial and ulnar deviation range of motion of the wrist, and rotation range of motion of the forearm were significantly increased to (101.3±13.6)°, (52.4±6.6)°, and (116.4±16.4)° when compared with those at 3 months postoperatively (all P<0.01). At 3 months postoperatively, the PRWE score was increased to (17.1±3.8)points from (10.6±3.2)points preoperatively ( P<0.01), modified Mayo wrist score was decreased to (70.3±6.7) points from (78.1±12.7)points preoperatively ( P<0.01), VAS was decreased to (4.4±1.7)points from (6.2±1.5)points preoperatively ( P>0.05), and percentage of grip strength between the affected side and unaffected side was decreased to (55.7±8.7)% from (74.4±15.2)% preoperatively ( P<0.01). At 1 year postoperatively, the PRWE score was increased to (2.0±0.9)points, modified Mayo wrist score was increased to (94.8±3.3)points, VAS was decreased to (2.1±1.1)points, and percentage of grip strength between the affected side and unaffected side was increased to (93.2±8.7)% when compared with those at 3 months postoperatively (all P<0.01). Conclusion:Wrist arthroscopic transosseous footprint repair technique can effectively treat deep ligament injury of TFCC, with advantages of significantly improving postoperative joint range of motion and functional score, relieving the pain on the ulnar side of the wrist and enhancing grip strength.