Suture Welding for Arthroscopic Repair of Peripheral Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Tears

This report presents a method of arthroscopic repair of the peripheral triangular fibrocartilage tears by using ultrasonic suture welding technique, thus avoiding the need for traditional suture knots. This technique elimi-nates the potential causes of ulnar-sided wrist discomfort especially during the postoperative period. Twenty-three patients (9 women and 14 men; mean age, 35 years; range, 18Y52 years) were operated during a 1-year period in 2001 for Palmer grade 1B triangular fibrocar-tilage complex tear and followed up for 17 months. At the final follow-up, the average wrist arc of motion was as follows: extension, 65 degrees; flexion, 56 degrees; supination, 80 degrees; pronation, 78 degrees; radial deviation, 12 degrees; and ulnar deviation, 25 degrees. Grip strength measured with a dynamometer (Jamar) averaged 81% of the contralateral side at the final evaluation (range, 53%Y105%).

Keywords: triangular fibrocartilage complex, arthroscopy, repair, suture-welding