Isolated radiocarpal dislocation. Report of a case and literature review

Purpose of the study We describe a case of an isolated radiocarpal dislocat ion and review the literature. Case report A young 29-year-old male, suffering from a wrist injury after a motor cycle accident, was diagnosed as dorsal radiocarpal joint dislocatio n with distal radioulnar dislocation and no fracture, close reduction was i mmediately performed followed by plaster cast immobilisation. After five mo nths satisfactory stability and motion were obtained without signs of carpa l instability. Discussion This pathology is exceptional with less than 15 published cases. Dislocation is due to wrist hyperextension with ulnar motion but without, probably, intracarpal supination. After immediate treatment, this lesion ap peared to have a good prognosis without post-traumatic carpal instability, when compared to the poorer result of perilunar dislocation.