ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the clinical effect of distal radioulnar ligament reconstruction by autologous tendon pal‐maris longus transplantation under arthroscopic assistance in treating chronic instability of the distal radioulnar joint .Methods Seven patients with chronic instability of the distal radioulnar joint after failure of conservation therapy were definitely diagnosed by the wrist joint exploration .Then the autologous tendon palmaris longus was taken for conducting the anatomical reconstruction of distal radioulnar ligament ;the average follow up was 12 months .The preoperative and postoperative grip strength and the motion of wrist joint were recorded ;the pain status of the wrist joint was evaluated by using the visual analogue scale (VAS) ,and the wrist function status was evaluated by using the Disabilities of the Arm ,Shoulder and Hand(DASH) and the Modified Mayo Wrist Score (MMWS) .Results The average VAS score of the rist joint motion was recovered from (7 ± 2) points before operation to (3 ± 3) points after operation ,the MMWS score was improved from preoperative (50 ± 9) points to postoperative (83 ± 11) points ,the DASH score was decreased significantly from preoperative (37 ± 15) points to postoperative (16 ± 10) points ,the grip strength was improved from preoperative 84 .5 ± 16 .0 to postoperative 93 .4 ± 11 .0 ,the differences were statistically significant .The mean range of motion(ROM ) in flexion/extension of the wrist was increased from preoperative 93 .5% ± 6 .0% to postoperative 96 .4% ± 3 .0% ,the ROM in pronation/supination of the forearm was increased from preoperative 92 .6% ± 7 .0% to postoperative 97 .2% ± 5 .0% ,but the differences were not statistically significant .Conclusion Under arthroscopic assistance ,the anatomical reconstruc‐tion of the distal radioulnar ligaments is an effective treatment method for treating chronic distal radioulnar joint instability ,its short term follow up has satisfactory effect .