[The scaphoid-trapezium-trapezoid arthrosis. A clinical study 1982-1985]

The present study deals with patients in whom the diagnostic procedures applied in rhizoid arthrosis were considered to reveal scaphoid-trapezium-trapezoid (STT) arthrosis. Between 1982 and 1985, 21 of 396 rhizoid arthrosis patients developed symptoms of STT arthosis. Examination of the case histories showed that in 20 STT patients the pathogenesis included trauma. In addition, the majority of these 396 patients (71.5%) had to be retreated because of new traumata and the resultant problems. The time lapse between the first trauma considered sufficiently severe to have caused STT arthrosis and its diagnosis was up to 7.1 years. Our improved facilities for diagnosis of pathologic conditions of the wrist enabled us to distinguish four types of STT arthrosis. Persistent complex instability of the capsular ligament appears to be the major cause of post-traumatic STT arthrosis. Extended diagnostic techniques based on standardized radiograms allow the development of a design for treatment aimed at preventing posttraumatic STT of the hand as far as possible.