gms | German Medical Science

Objectives/Interrogation: Scapholunate (SL) injuries are the most common intercarpal ligament injury according to severity as predynamic, dynamic, static reductible, static irreductible or arthritic.

There is a new technique that incorporates a combination of a biologic tendon graft and a ligament augmentation repair.

The aim of our study is to describe our results using the all dorsal SL reconstruction with this new technique.

Methods: We included two cases of a subacute SL injuries. There were two men with ages of 39 and 42 years-old respectively. We explore the patients and did x-rays and a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to confirm the diagnosis.

Ligament reconstruction was performed using two 3,5x8,5mm Dx Swive Lock SL suture anchors, a 2mm wide extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) tendon autograft and Labral Tape suture as an Internal Brace augmentation. The strenght of the repair was testes intraoperatively.

The minimun follow-up was 12 months.

Results and Conclusions: Patients had pain with the activities but they had not constant pain. Visual analog scale was 2. The range of motion decreased in the two cases. The mean postoperative wrist extension was 65º, flexion 60º, radial desviation 15º and ulnar desviation 12º. In both patients grip strength decreased if we compare with the contralateral side. Postoperative x-rays and MRI showed a SL gap of 4mm in one patient and 5 mm in the other.

In our cases we restore the correct motion of the wrist without pain at rest and with daily activities. Nevertheless, there is still a SL gap despite the strenght of the repair was correctly tested intraoperatively. Although our study is preliminary and there are few patients, we can not say that this new technique can perfectly correct, as in other ligaments located in the shoulder the scapholunate junction.