Abstract
Treating 10 consecutive patients requiring wrist arthrodesis, we assessed the effectiveness of a titanium plate specifically designed by Hill Hastings for wrist arthrodesis. It appeared to call for little or no postoperative casting and to promise an early return to functionality.
We secured the plate to the third metacarpal and the radius and used autologous bone graft taken from their iliac crest. Length of time immobilisation, time to union, overall functional results and patient satisfaction were recorded.
In all 10 patients clinical and radiological union occurred in 8 to 12 weeks. Four patients had no postoperative immobilisation and six had a Litecast. Correctly applied, the pre-contured plate produced a consistently satisfactory position of fusion. One patient had a small area of wound skin necrosis in a pre-existing transverse scar over the dorsum of the wrist, but this healed.
The carpometacarpal joint is included in this fusion, which requires a longer longitudinal incision than some other wrist fusion techniques. However, patient satisfaction was high.
The abstracts were prepared by Professor M. B. E. Sweet. Correspondence should be addressed to him at The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical School, University of Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, 2193 South Africa
