Arthroscopic study of injuries in articular fractures of distal radius extremity

OBJECTIVE To analyze the incidence of wrist ligament and cartilage associated fractures of the distal radius, through arthroscopy, correlating with AO/ASIF classification. METHODS Thirty patients aged between 20 and 50 years old, with closed fracture from groups B and C according to AO/ASIF classification were selected. All of them were submitted to wrist arthroscopy to address intra-articular injuries and reduction and osteosynthesis of the fracture. RESULTS A high incidence of intra-articular injuries was noticed, and 76.6% of them presented injury of the triangular fibrocartilage complex, 36.6% of the intrinsic scapholunate ligament, 6.6% of the intrinsic triquetrolunate ligament, and 33% articular cartilage injury larger than three millimeters. Patients with fractures from type C according to AO/ASIF classification presented a higher incidence of ligament injuries. CONCLUSION There is no relationship between the presence of chondral injury and the AO/ASIF classification of the fractures in the cases reported in this study.