Radiographic evaluation of soft tissue reconstruction for chronic scapholunate dissociation / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the radiographic outcomes of dorsal intercarpal ligament capsulodesis (DILC) and three-ligament tenodesis for chronic scapholunate dissociation,and to determine its recurrence rate and time after operation.Methods From January 2008 to January 2011,23 patients with chronic scapholunate dissociation were treated in our hospital.Among them,19 patients underwent DILC and 4 underwent three-ligament tenodesis.The average duration of follow-up was 10.1 months.The clinical and radiographic outcomes were recorded preoperatively,at 1 month after pin removal,and at final follow-up.The VAS and DASH questionnaire were used to assess the pre-and post-operative pain,improvement of function and degree of patient satisfaction,respectively.Results The radiographic outcome showed that the abnormal carpal alignment was reduced completely in all patients during operation.At 1 month after pin removal,the mean scapholunate gap was 4.0 mm,and average scapholunate angle was 75°.Compared with those before operation,the scapholunate gap and scapholunate angle were improved.At final follow-up,the mean scapholunate gap was 4.3 mm,and the mean scapholunate angle was 78°; they were worse compared with those at 1 month after pin removal,while there was no statistical difference in both results.The other three radiographic results at final follow-up remain unchanged.The wrist flexion,wrist extension and grip strength decreased from preoperative 66％,69％ and 71％ of the contralateral side to postoperative 52％,50％ and 66％ of the contralateral side.Conclusion Soft tissue reconstruction cannot withstand the large and repetitive forces.Carpal collapse recurs in a short time after dorsal capsulodesis and three-ligament ten-odesis,which mostly happens in 1 month after pin removal.The best way to treat scapholunate dissociation is still unknown.