Arthroscopic capsulodesis of the lunotriquetral joint

A case series consisting of 20 consecutive patients with persistent ulnar-s ided mechanical wrist pain, lunotriquetral interosseous (LTIOL) ligament te ars resulting in joint incongruity and increased laxity, and traumatic tria ngular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears was reviewed. Each patient under went an arthroscopic reduction and internal fixation (ARIF) of the lunotriq uetral joint, arthroscopic disk-carpal (disklunate-ulnocapitate-disktriquet ral, DL-UC-DT) Ligament plication, and TFCC repair or debridement. There we re 12 right wrists and 8 left wrists, of which 12 were dominant. The mean p atient age was 33 years; 7 patients had workers' compensation claims and 2 had legal claims. Four teen patients recalled a specific injury mechanism, such as hyperextension or rotation. The accompanying traumatic TFCC tears w ere peripheral in 15 and Linear radial in 6 patients tone patient had conco mitant peripheral and radial linear tears), and in 6 cases, the palmar ulno carpal extrinsic ligaments were partially tom. The mean preoperative modifi ed Mayo Wrist Score was 50, and at a mean of 3.1 years after surgery, the s core had increased to 88. There were 13 excellent, 5 good, and 2 fair resul ts. Four patients had complications, including transient tenderness along t he extensor carpi ulnaris and persistent neuritis of a dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve. Overall wrist comfort and function, as indicated by the modif ied Mayo Wrist Scores, improved after arthroscopic stabilization of ulnar-s ided wrist injuries (pinning of the lunotriquetral joint, disk-carpal ligam ent plication, and TFCC repair or debridement).