Total wrist arthrodesis for septic wrist arthritis and loss of the bony carpus following percutaneous pinning of the fifth carpometacarpal joint: a case report

C Deml; S A Euler; G Schmidle; S Erhart; M Gabl; R Arora

doi:10.1007/s00402-017-2660-8

Total wrist arthrodesis for septic wrist arthritis and loss of the bony carpus following percutaneous pinning of the fifth carpometacarpal joint: a case report

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2017 Jun;137(6):813-816. doi: 10.1007/s00402-017-2660-8. Epub 2017 Mar 1.

Authors

C Deml¹, S A Euler², G Schmidle², S Erhart², M Gabl², R Arora²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Trauma Surgery, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria. Christian.Deml@tirol-kliniken.at.
² Department of Trauma Surgery, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.

Abstract

We report on a patient who developed septic wrist arthritis with destruction of the entire carpus due to osteomyelitis following percutaneous pinning of a fifth metacarpal base fracture. Arthrodesis was performed using a 6 cm vascularized iliac bone graft. This case report may sharpen the surgeon's awareness of risks in orthopedic surgeries, even though the procedure seems to be rather simple and the patient is young and seems to be healthy.

Keywords: Arthrodesis; Septic arthritis; Wrist; Wrist-fusion.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Arthritis, Infectious / diagnosis
Arthritis, Infectious / surgery*
Arthrodesis / methods*
Bone Nails*
Bone Transplantation / methods
Carpal Bones / diagnostic imaging
Carpal Bones / surgery*
Carpometacarpal Joints / diagnostic imaging
Carpometacarpal Joints / surgery*
Humans
Ilium / transplantation
Male
Wrist Joint / surgery*