Tuberculous tenosynovitis of the wrist. Two case reports.

Tuberculosis was first described in 1756 by Acrel in a case report. Subsequent reports of musculoskeletal tuberculosis documented the uncommon occurrence of hand and wrist involvement. The two cases presented here demonstrate the difficulty in eradicating the organism even with modern regimens of chemotherapy. Intraoperative Gram's stain and frozen sections were useful to rule out other etiologies. Firm diagnosis must be established by tissue culture. The first case appeared cured after thorough initial debridement and had no recurrence for 36 years. While recurrences are common in patients treated with debridement alone, most appear within one year after the index procedure. The amount of time that elapsed in this case is unusual and serves as a sobering reminder that tuberculosis may recur at a time distant from the initial procedure. The second patient had tuberculosis diagnosed elsewhere and was treated twice with antituberculous chemotherapy. Although the first course of therapy for six months may have been inadequate, the second course with multiple drugs for 18 months would certainly be considered adequate; yet he had a recurrence in his wrist eight months after completing treatment. These two cases illustrate the fastidious nature of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis organism and the need for a combined treatment protocol of meticulous surgical debridement and combined chemotherapy.

Flexor tendon ruptures secondary to hamate hook fractures.

Four patients with flexor tendon ruptures secondary to hook of the hamate fracture are described. None of the patients had the diagnosis of fracture made before tendon rupture. All patients were treated with excision of the fractured hook and tendon repair. The tendon repair was usually an end-to-side (Y junction) of the profundus of the small to the profundus of the ring finger. After operation, all patients were free of pain and returned to their preinjury activity levels, but most had some limitation of motion in the digit with the tendon repair. The complication of tendon rupture not uncommonly follows basilar hook of the hamate fractures. Treatment by excision of the fracture and end-to-side tendon repair produces satisfactory results. Range of motion after tendon repair seems to depend more on the patient's age and the amount of inflammation at the site of repair rather than on the method of tendon repair.

Hook of the hamate fractures. Diagnosis, treatment, and complications.

Four cases of undiagnosed hook of the hamate fracture are presented. In each case, the initial injury was considered trivial; medical attention was not sought until rupture of the little profundus/superficialis tendon occurred. All were treated with excision of the hook and tendon repair, which usually consisted of an end-to-side or "Y" type repair of the little to the ring profundus. Postoperatively, all patients were pain-free; they returned to their respective preinjury activities, although most had some limitation of motion in the digits with the tendon repair. A review of the English literature revealed 127 cases of hook of the hamate fracture, with 14 instances of associated tendon rupture and four histories of tendon fraying. The addition of these four cases constitutes a rupture/injury rate of approximately 14%. Since tendon rupture is a serious problem that not uncommonly follows hook of the hamate fracture, a high index of suspicion must be maintained when initially evaluating these injuries.

Ulnar shortening for tears of the triangular fibrocartilaginous complex.

Ten consecutive patients had their ulnas shortened for treatment of ulnar wrist pain associated with triangular fibrocartilaginous complex tears. Each injury was traced to a previous fall or an overuse syndrome. Conservative treatment failed. In all patients, x-ray films showed ulnar positive or neutral variance. The ulna was shortened an average of 2 mm. Frank ulnolunate abutment and/or cartilage degeneration was found in six cases. Follow-up averaged 23 months, and except for one patient in whom radiocarpal arthritis developed, the remaining patients were satisfied and returned to their work or previous level of activity. Relief of pain, grip strength, and range of motion were excellent, except for an average decrease in flexion of 25.8 degrees (p = 0.01). Hardware irritation was noted in six patients. These findings substantiate the use of ulnar shortening to relieve ulnolunate impingement in patients with ulnar positive or neutral wrists in whom ulnar wrist pain develops and who demonstrate triangular fibrocartilaginous complex tears after acute trauma and/or overuse syndromes.

Intraoperative assessment of median nerve blood flow during carpal tunnel release with laser Doppler flowmetry.

Eleven consecutive median nerves in patients with clinical carpal tunnel syndrome were examined prospectively with laser Doppler flowmetry. All procedures were done without a tourniquet with the patient under local or general anesthesia. Multiple measurements of median nerve blood flow were obtained during carpal tunnel release. Flow characteristics proximal to the transverse carpal ligament did not change after release of the ligament. Beneath the transverse carpal ligament, initial flow was random in 10 of 11 nerves. Within 1 minute after release of the transverse carpal ligament, flow became pulsatile and synchronized with the patient's pulse in nine nerves. Although preliminary, these data suggest that in carpal tunnel syndrome the segment of median nerve beneath the carpal ligament is relatively ischemic and this ischemia may be a factor in the development of symptomatic median nerve entrapment. The rapid return of a pulsatile signal within the nerve after release is positively correlated with relief or improvement of median nerve dysesthesias.

Compression of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve at the adductor hiatus producing pain without muscle atrophy.

Compression of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve distal to the pisohamate hiatus is rare. Two cases of compression of the deep branch at the adductor hiatus are presented. These cases are unique because of pain in the hand without muscle atrophy. One patient has had surgical treatment, and the other patient's symptoms are not severe enough to warrant surgical treatment.

Results of nerve grafting in severe soft tissue injuries.

Nerve grafting was performed in a series of patients, 81% of whom had associated severe soft tissue injuries in the area in which nerve grafting was done. Other factors that have been shown to have an adverse effect on nerve grafting results were analyzed and were not thought to be major factors influencing results. Results were worse than those of previous reports in which the initial injury was less severe. The initial soft tissue injury is very important in predicting how well a nerve graft will function. Nerve grafting is a valuable procedure even in the face of severe soft tissue injuries, since it alone can restore protective sensation.

Volar plate fractures.

Rupture of the volar plate of the proximal interphalangeal joint, usually secondary to hyper-extension injury, may be accompanied by a radiographically evident avulsion fracture at the base of the middle phalanx. Findings were reviewed in 55 patients with 58 cases of volar plate fracture. This fracture should be specifically looked for in a patient with the typical history, since it may be the only radiographic evidence of a potentially disabling injury.