Abstract

A male patient in his 50s presented with severe bilateral wrist pain. As a professional cyclist, he had encountered several falls. By now, he could only cycle if he wore a wrist brace. Wrist radiographs demonstrated bilateral SLAC wrists. Because he was still an active athlete, salvage techniques that all lead to wrist shortening and therefore decrease in strength, did not appeal to him. In search of a suitable solution, we tried to preserve the wrist length by replacing the collapsed and arthritic scaphoids by 3D printed titanium versions. We had had positive experiences with this procedure in a patient with a destroyed scaphoid. Three years after the operation on the left side and two years after treating the right side, the patient had significant pain reduction, good wrist function and grip strength. Final X-rays demonstrated no signs of dislocation of the implant or signs of periprosthetic arthritis. Studies have shown that once SLAC occurs, treatment should consist of either a proximal row carpectomy or scaphoidectomy and four corner fusion. In our case, despite collapse, replacement of the scaphoids by 3D modelled protheses lead to good return of function.

Biography

Marius Kemler has completed his PhD at the age of 29 years from Maastricht University and works as a consultant plastic surgeon focussed on hand surgery at Martini Hospital Groningen in the Netherlands. He has published more than 60 papers in reputed journals.