Dorsal wrist syndrome repair

Dorsal wrist pain with or without a palpable dorsal wrist ganglion is a common complaint. Watson developed the concept of the dorsal wrist syndrome (DWS) which is an entity encompassing pre-dynamic rotary subluxation of the scaphoid and the overloaded wrist. We reviewed 20 cases of DWS treated surgically. There were nine males (11 wrists) and nine females (nine wrists). Post-operative follow-up ranged from five to 67 months (mean, 37 months). At operation, we observed SLL tears in eight wrists and dorsal ganglia in 12 cases. Following surgery, 12 cases reported being pain free, five had mild pain, two moderate pain and one case reported severe pain. Post-operative extension/flexion was 73/70 average. Post-operative grip strength was 28 kg average. We believe that excision of the posterior interosseous nerve and the dorsal capsule including the ganglion, if present, provides pain relief in DWS.