Radio-carpal and inter-carpal degenerative arthritis in sequellae of scaphoid injuries.

Degenerative arthritis is a frequent pattern after old fractures or rotatory subluxations of the scaphoid. The authors have studied this phenomenon, on 48 wrists. In old scaphoid fractures, the degenerative arthritis begins with an impingement between radial styloid process and proximal pole of the scaphoid, and then reaches the lunocapitate joint. A dorsi flexion by instability is then constant. After a scaphoid subluxation, degenerative arthritis begins between scaphoid and radial epiphysis too, but arthritis in these cases, is earlier and more symptomatic. We found two types of wrists: the sequellae of the post-traumatic scapholunate diastasis and the peri-scaphoid arthritis "primary in appearance", which corresponds to the scapholunate advanced collapsed pattern of A.K. Watson.