Arthroscopic dorsal capsuloplasty in chronic scapholunate ligament tears: a new procedure; preliminary report

We report our preliminary results of arthroscopic dorsal capsuloplasty for chronic scapholunate lesions to obviate the need for an open exposure of the wrist capsule. Twenty-two consecutive patients with scapholunate ligament tears underwent an arthroscopically-assisted dorsal capsuloplasty with or without percutaneous pinning. The mean age of subjects was 36 years (range, 27 to 55 years). The mean preoperative delay was 9 months (range 3 to 24 months). Criteria for surgery were persistent pain over the dorsal radial wrist in the scapholunate region and a positive finding on performing Watson's test. All patients were reviewed at a mean follow-up of 13 months (range, 7 to 19 months). The range of motion was recovered with a slight limitation in flexion in only four cases. The average grip strength attained was 96% of the contralateral side. The results in terms of pain were excellent. The seven high level athletes resumed practice at the same level as prior to the injury. A longer follow-up is necessary to confirm these encouraging preliminary results.