Purpose
To compare the clinical outcomes of arthroscopically-assisted suture anchor repair
and transosseous sutures for repair of foveal triangular fibrocartilage complex tears
in patients with distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) instability.
Methods
Sixty patients with triangular fibrocartilage complex foveal detachment associated
with DRUJ instability were prospectively recruited and randomized into 2 equal groups—the
anchor repair group and the transosseous repair group. The primary outcome was DRUJ
function after 2 years, which was assessed by the DRUJ evaluating system. The secondary
outcomes were grip strength, visual analog scale for pain, Mayo Modified Wrist ScorePatient-Rated
Wrist Evaluation score, and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score.
Results
There were no significant differences between the groups for any of the outcome measures.
Good-to-excellent outcomes (according to the DRUJ evaluation system) were achieved
in 27 (90%) patients in the anchor repair group and 26 (86.7%) patients in the transosseous
repair group. Fewer complications were observed in the anchor repair group.
Conclusions
Both techniques yielded good and comparable outcomes with a lesser incidence of early
complications in the anchor repair group.
Type of study/level of evidence
Therapeutic II.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 24, 2022
Accepted:
January 21,
2022
Received:
June 1,
2021
Footnotes
No benefits in any form have been received or will be received related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. All rights reserved.
