Combined radiocarpal intercarpal arthrodesis

Nineteen patients with disabling radiocarpal arthritis were treated over a period of 10 years with wrist arthrodesis. Three patients died for reasons not related to their surgery, and two were lost to followup. Of the 14 patients studied, 10 were treated with a surgical technique, consisting of intercarpal fusion with cancellous bone grafts combined with inner iliac corticocancellous bone graft fixation using cancellous screws. All patients studied were evaluated using a 100 point scale evaluation system: 13 patients scored above 90 with excellent results, and the remaining one patient scored 70 with a fair result. The one patient's lower score was related to his preoperative reflex sympathetic dystrophy. All patients had solid fusion, postoperative functional improvement, and were satisfied. This combined technique also provides a short recuperation period.