Journal
JOURNAL OF HAND SURGERY-AMERICAN VOLUME
Volume 31A, Issue 6, Pages 1029-1034Publisher
W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2006.04.005
Keywords
distal radius malunion; intra-articular osteotomy; wrist arthroscopy; wrist fracture
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Purpose: To present an inside-out osteotomy technique under arthroscopic guidance to correct an intra-articular malunion. Methods: The joint is explored with a 2.7-mm arthroscope through the standard portals without infusing any water. To allow room to introduce the curettes and the osteotomes (4-mm wide), the instrumentation portals are made slightly larger than usual. Malunited fragments are cut with the osteotomes from inside the joint and advanced out. Fragments are mobilized, and granulating tissue and/or new bone is removed with curettes and synoviotomes. After disimpaction and reduction, fixation with plates or screws via the appropriate open approach is performed under arthroscopic control. No water is used throughout the procedure except at the end of the surgery to clear out debris. Results: Steps were corrected to 0 mm in all patients. Gaps of less than 1 mm were common. Conclusions: This procedure allows us to define each cartilage-containing fragment and to re-create the original articular fracture line without the fear of creating new fracture lines on the articular surface. This technique can be used for patients with irregularly defined fragments that are not amenable to classic techniques. The key to the procedure is to perform the arthroscopic exploration without water infusion (dry technique).
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available