Radiological and functional correlation following "SLIC" scapholunate-intercarpal ligamentoplasty at minimum 12...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Hand Surgery
• Musculoskeletal Research

Background:

• Scapholunate (SL) instability is a common cause of wrist pain and dysfunction.
• The SLIC procedure is a surgical technique for treating SL instability without repairable tissue.
• Assessing the impact of posterior radioscaphoid angle (PRSA) correction on outcomes is important.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate clinical and radiological outcomes after SLIC procedure for static SL instability.
• To assess correlations between radiological findings and functional results post-SLIC.
• To analyze the effectiveness of PRSA correction in improving patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 22 patients with static SL instability underwent the SLIC procedure.
• Preoperative and postoperative assessments included pain, range of motion, grip strength, and functional scores (QuickDASH, PRWE).
• Radiological evaluation included SL gap, SL angle, radiolunate angle, capitolunate angle, and PRSA via CT scan.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in pain, wrist range of motion, grip strength, and functional scores were observed.
• Radiological parameters showed significant improvement, including a reduced SL angle and SL gap.
• PRSA was significantly corrected postoperatively, with a trend towards better outcomes when PRSA was corrected.

Conclusions:

• The SLIC procedure demonstrates good medium-term results for static SL instability.
• Correction of the posterior radioscaphoid angle (PRSA) may be more critical than solely addressing the scapholunate gap.
• Further research is needed to fully understand the radiological-functional correlations after SLIC ligamentoplasty.