Wrist arthroscopy-assisted ulnar head Wafer resection versus ulnar shortening osteotomy for treatment of ulnar impaction syndrome / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy between wrist arthroscopy-assisted ulnar head Wafer resection and ulnar shortening osteotomy in the treatment of ulnar impaction syndrome.Methods:From March 2012 to February 2017, 45 patients with ulnar impaction syndrome were treated at Department of Hand Surgery, No. 6 Hospital of Ningbo. They were 26 males and 19 females, aged from 28 to 48 years (average, 38 years). The right side was affected in 31 cases and the left side in 14. They were divided into 2 groups according to different surgical methods: 22 patients were subjected to arthroscopy-assisted ulnar head Wafer resection (the resection group) and 23 to open ulnar shortening osteotomy and internal fixation (the osteotomy group). Preoperative X-rays were taken to evaluate the height of positive ulnar variances and MRI was used to initially assess the damages to triangular fibrocartilage disc complex (TFCC), the semilunare and the tri-quetrum. Arthroscopy was conducted to evaluate intra-articular conditions, remove hyperplastic synovial membrane and repair the injured TFCC. In the resection group, the patients underwent arthroscopic ulnar head Wafer resection while in the osteotomy group, the patients underwent open ulnar shortening osteotomy and plate fixation. The platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was injected into the wrist joint in all cases after operation. Regular follow-ups and X-rays were performed to observe healing of the ulna. The wrist function was evaluated by the modified Mayo scoring system.Results:There was no significant difference in the general data between the resection group and the osteotomy group, showing comparability beween groups( P>0.05). Twenty patients in the resection group were followed up for an average time of 13.7 months. Their modified Mayo scores were 80.3±6.2; 7 of them were rated as excellent, 11 as good and 2 as fair, yielding a good and excellent rate of 90.0%(18/20). Twenty-two patients in the osteotomy group were followed up for an average time of 14.3 months. Three of them reported slight pain at 6-month follow-up. Their modified Mayo scores were 85.1±5.9; 6 of them were rated as excellent, 13 as good and 3 as fair, yielding a good and excellent rate of 86.4%(19/22). There was a significant difference in the modified Mayo scores between the 2 groups ( P<0.05). Conclusion:In treatment of ulnar impaction syndrome with the height of positive ulnar variances ≤3 mm, wrist arthroscopy-assisted ulnar head Wafer resection can obtain better clinical results than ulnar shortening osteotomy.