Article
Functional outcomes of the Adams-Berger Ligament Reconstruction for the Distal Radioulnar Joint Instability in 95 Consecutive Cases
Search Medline for
Authors
Published: | February 6, 2020 |
---|
Outline
Text
Objectives/Interrogation: To evaluate the outcomes and complication rate for Adams-Berger anatomic reconstruction of the distal radio-ulnar joint (DRUJ).
Methods: Retrospective chart review to evaluate adult patients that had undergone reconstruction of the DRUJ for instability with the Adams-Berger procedure between 1998-2015 within our institution. Charts were reviewed for patient demographics, mechanism of injury, outcome, surgery related data and complications.
Results and Conclusions: 95 wrists in 93 patients were included. Mean (SD) age at surgery was 37.3 years (+12.7 years) and follow-up time was 65.8 months (63.2 months). At the last follow-up, 90.8% of the patients presented a stable DRUJ, 3.4% had mild laxity, while 5.3% had signs of instability. Compared to preoperative measurements, grip strength had increased, and pronation and supination decreased. Patients reported improvement in overall pain scores, and none of the patients reported severe pain of their wrist at last follow up. Six patients suffered from ulnar neuropraxia.
Overall, graft survival was 87.4%. 12 patients had undergone revision surgery, with a mean time from primary reconstructive surgery to revision surgery of 13.3 months. Female and use of interference screw for graft fixation was associated with higher failure rates.
Our findings demonstrate that Adams-Berger anatomic ligament reconstruction of the DRUJ provides reliable long-term functional results with an overall graft survival of 87% at >5 years follow-up.