Cartilage Injuries and Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis in the Wrist: A Review

Objective: Focal cartilage injuries, and posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) in the wrist are likely common and a cause of wrist pain. To estimate the incidence of cartilage lesions and to understand the pathomechanisms leading to wrist cartilage injuries and OA, a literature review on the subject was performed combined with a presentation of one of the authors’ own experience. Design: This study includes a literature review of the topic. As a comparison to the review findings, the observations of one of the authors’ consecutive 48 wrist arthroscopies, were assessed. PubMed, Scholar, and Cochrane databases were searched using the keywords “cartilage injury AND wrist AND treatment” and “wrist AND cartilage AND chondral AND osteochondral AND degenerative OA.” :Result A total of 11 articles, including 9 concerning chondral and osteochondral repair and treatment and 2 regarding posttraumatic OA, were retrieved. The cartilage repair treatments used in these articles were drilling, osteochondral autograft, juvenile articular cartilage allograft, and chondrocyte implantation. One article displayed concomitant cartilage injuries in displaced distal radius fractures in 32% of the patients. The review of our findings from a 1-year cohort of wrist arthroscopies showed 17% cartilage injuries. Conclusion: There is a lack of knowledge in current literature on cartilage injuries and treatment, as well as posttraumatic OA in the wrist. Cartilage injuries appear to be common, being found in 17% to 32% of all wrist arthroscopies after trauma, but no guidelines regarding conservative or surgical treatment can be recommended at the moment. Larger prospective comparative studies are needed.

Scaphoid Fracture Reconstruction with Rib Autograft: Case Report and Literature Review

Objective. To evaluate the results of scaphoid bone proximal pole reconstruction with rib osteochondral autograft due to comminuted scaphoid fracture. Material and methods. We present a clinical case of fragmented scaphoid bone proximal pole fracture reconstruction by rib osteochondral autograft. The modified wrist function score of Green and O’Brien and Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) outcome measuring scales were used for clinical evaluation before and 6 months after the reconstruction. Additio­nally, a literature review was conducted for case reports and previous literature reviews describing scaphoid bone proximal pole fracture surgical treatment. Medline (PubMed), ScienceDirect and UpToDate databases were used. Results. Conventional treatment methods for the treatment of comminuted proximal pole scaphoid bone fractures are often inappropriate due to technical issues or potential adverse outcomes. In these cases, reconstruction with rib autograft is possible. The study patient’s modified wrist function score of Green and O’Brien increased from 75 to 95 points out of 100 at 6 months postoperatively, and the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) score decreased from 13.64 to 4.55 points. The results of this technique have been investigated in several studies (Sandow, 1998, 2001; Veitch et al., 2007). All subjects (22, 47 and 14 patients, respectively), except one, experienced improvement of wrist function – enhanced wrist movement, grip strength, reduced pain and restored wrist function to the pre-injury performance level. Conclusions. Scaphoid bone proximal pole fragmented fracture reconstruction with osteochondrial rib autograft achieves favorable recovery of wrist function and avoids complications or unfavorable functional consequences of alternative surgical procedures.