Long-term functional outcomes after total wrist arthrodesis.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Reconstructive Surgery
• Hand and Wrist Surgery

Background:

• Literature on functional outcomes after total wrist arthrodesis is limited by short follow-up periods.
• Validated patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are not consistently utilized in existing studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe long-term functional outcomes following total wrist arthrodesis.
• To assess the incidence of complications and patient satisfaction after wrist fusion.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective single-center study with a minimum 10-year follow-up.
• Patients completed questionnaires including Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE), Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (Quick-DASH), and EQ-5D-5L.
• Complication data and patient satisfaction were also collected.

Main Results:

• At a median 15-year follow-up (n=34), mean PRWE was 44.8 and mean Quick-DASH was 41.9.
• Twenty-eight patients reported satisfaction; nine experienced complications (e.g., hardware removal, revision for non-union).
• Complications did not significantly affect PRWE or Quick-DASH scores. Median EQ-5D-5L was 0.7.

Conclusions:

• Total wrist arthrodesis can lead to high long-term patient satisfaction and quality of life.
• Significant functional disability persists despite positive satisfaction.
• Complication rates are considerable, but do not appear to negatively impact functional outcomes.