Management of Intercarpal Ligament Injuries Associated with Distal Radius Fractures

Mihir J Desai; Robin N Kamal; Marc J Richard

doi:10.1016/j.hcl.2015.04.009

Management of Intercarpal Ligament Injuries Associated with Distal Radius Fractures

Hand Clin. 2015 Aug;31(3):409-16. doi: 10.1016/j.hcl.2015.04.009.

Authors

Mihir J Desai¹, Robin N Kamal², Marc J Richard³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University, 4709 Creekstone Drive, Durham, NC 27703, USA. Electronic address: mihirjdesai@gmail.com.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, 450 Broadway Street Pavilion C, Room c-440, Redwood City, CA 94063, USA.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University, 4709 Creekstone Drive, Durham, NC 27703, USA.

PMID: 26205702
DOI: 10.1016/j.hcl.2015.04.009

Abstract

The prevalence of ligamentous injury associated with fractures of the distal radius is reported to be as high as 69% with injury to the scapholunate interosseous ligament and lunotriquetral interosseous ligament occurring in 16% to 40% and 8.5% to 15%, respectively. There is a lack of consensus on which patients should undergo advanced imaging, arthroscopy, and treatment and whether this changes their natural history. Overall, patients with high-grade intercarpal ligament injuries are shown to have longer-term disability and sequelae compared with those with lower-grade injuries. This article reviews the diagnosis and treatment options for these injuries.

Keywords: Distal radius fracture; Intercarpal ligament; Lunotriquetral; Scapholunate.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Arthroscopy
Carpal Joints / injuries*
Carpal Joints / surgery*
Diagnostic Imaging
Humans
Joint Instability / diagnosis*
Joint Instability / surgery*
Ligaments, Articular / injuries*
Ligaments, Articular / surgery*
Radius Fractures / diagnosis*
Radius Fractures / surgery*