Contested claims in carpal tunnel surgery: outcome study of worker's compensation factors.

Unlabelled: We retrospectively analyzed the importance of factors relating to worker's compensation for 273 wrists in 211 consecutive patients who underwent primary carpal tunnel release. Patients were divided into three groups: non-work related, worker's compensation-uncontested, and worker's compensation-contested. Contested claims were those in which the worker's compensation carrier denied authorization for surgery, and in which such authorization was given following intervention by a plaintiff's attorney.

Trispiral tomographic staging of Kienböck's disease.

Trispiral tomography enhances the staging of Kienböck's disease and aids in surgical planning. The clinical records, plain x-rays, and trispiral tomograms of 105 patients with Kienböck's disease were reviewed. When tomograms were used, upward revision of the classification stage was indicated in 73% of patients with stage I or stage II disease and in 10% of those with stage III disease.

Radial recession osteotomy for Kienböck's disease.

Sixty-eight patients underwent radial recession osteotomy for avascular necrosis of the lunate were retrospectively evaluated after an average follow-up period of 52 months. Twenty-five patients had undergone 1 or more additional procedures concurrently for treatment of Kienböck's disease. Pain diminished in 93% of patients, grip strength improved, and wrist motion was preserved; 75% of patients continued in their original occupations, including heavy labor.

Arthrodesis of the wrist for post-traumatic disorders.

We retrospectively reviewed the records of eighty-nine consecutive patients (ninety wrists) who had had a total arthrodesis of the wrist for the treatment of a post-traumatic disorder at one center. Fifty-six patients (fifty-seven wrists) had the arthrodesis with plate fixation, and thirty-three patients (thirty-three wrists) had the arthrodesis with a variety of other techniques. The average age of the patients at the time of the arthrodesis was forty-two years, and the dominant wrist was treated in forty-two patients.

Ulnar lengthening and radial recession procedures for Kienböck's disease. Long-term clinical and radiographic follow-up.

Twenty patients with Kienböck's disease who had undergone a joint levelling procedure, were reviewed at a mean of 11 years following surgery. Clinical and radiological evaluation revealed good long-term results with all patients complaining of less pain than before surgery and with statistically significant increases in range of motion and grip strength. Radiologically a significant number of patients were found still to have lunate fractures and fragmentation.