Distal radioulnar joint kinematics before surgery and 12 months following open foveal reinsertion of the triangular fibrocartilage complex: comparison with the contralateral non-injured joint

Abstract

Background and purpose: Foveal triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) lesion may cause distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) instability. Dynamic radiostereometry (dRSA) has been validated for objective measurement of DRUJ kinematics. We evaluated DRUJ kinematics by dRSA before surgery and 12 months following open foveal reinsertion of the TFCC in comparison with contralateral non-injured DRUJs.Patients and methods: In a prospective cohort study, 21 patients (11 men) of mean age 34 years (22–50) with arthroscopically confirmed foveal TFCC lesion were evaluated preoperatively, and at 6 and 12 months after open foveal TFCC reinsertion with QDASH, PRWE, pain on NRS, and bilateral dRSA imaging during a patient active press test motion cycle, including a force-loaded downstroke and a release phase.Results: Preoperatively, the force-loaded part (> 2.3 kg; 95% CI 1.6–3.0) of the press test motion cycle (from 15% to 75%) revealed a more volar position of the ulnar head in the sigmoid notch (DRUJ position ratio) and increased distance in DRUJs with foveal TFCC lesion compared with the patients’ contralateral non-injured DRUJ (p < 0.05). 6 months postoperatively, the DRUJ position was generally normalized and remained normalized at 12 months. However, the DRUJ distance remained higher on the injured side. 12 months postoperatively, patients reported less pain during activities, with improved QDASH and PRWE scores (p < 0.007).Interpretation: DRUJ kinematics during the press test showed increased DRUJ translation to a more volar position of the ulnar head after foveal TFCC lesion compared with the contralateral non-injured DRUJs. Open foveal TFCC reinsertion had a stabilizing effect on DRUJ kinematics towards normalization, and improved patient-reported outcomes 6 and 12 months after surgery.

Reproduction of forearm rotation dynamic using intensity-based biplane 2D–3D registration matching method

“…This method was first developed for the dynamic analysis of artificial joints 22 and has been used for knee 23 and shoulder 24 joint dynamic analyses in vivo. While dynamic analysis of the forearm has been performed using single-plane serial fluoroscopic images 25 – 27 , only a few reports exist using biplane imaging, despite their superior accuracy in registration matching 28 , 29 . Therefore, we developed a unique intensity-based biplane 2D–3D registration matching method that uses density gradient information 30 , 31 between fluoroscopic and CT images to perform dynamic analysis 32 at 12.5 fps, resulting in a truly dynamic analysis method compared with the techniques used in previous reports 18 – 21 , 25 .…”