Abstract

Background : Our aim in this study to evaluate and compare the short- and mid-term clinical results of two surgical techniques ( arthroscopic suture anchor versus double-tunnel transosseous repair ) for foveal tears of Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC).
Methods: Patients who underwent foveal TFCC repair with arthroscopic transosseous tunnel and suture-anchor were identified. Demographic data of patients, duration of surgery, number of fluoroscopy shots, post-operative symptoms, wrist range of motion (ROM), grip strength, Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (qDASH) Score, Mayo wrist score, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score was evaluated. Two groups were formed from the patients who participated in the study.
Results: Group I consisted of 10 patients treated with double-tunnel transosseous technique, and Group II consisted of 16 patients treated with suture-anchor technique. The mean number of C-arm fluoroscopy for Group I (6.8±1.9) was significantly higher than Group II (2.7±1.2) (p=0.000). There was no change in postoperative joint ROM in both groups. There were significant improvements in QuickDASH (qDASH), Mayo wrist score and grip strength in both groups. Comparison of the groups revealed no significant difference in pre- and postoperative wrist range of motion (p=0.509) and grip strength improvement (p=0.523). qDASH and VAS scores were similar between the two groups (p=0.692 and p= 0.851, respectively). The number of patients whose postoperative symptoms did not improve was similar in both groups (p=0.851).
Conclusion: Both suture-anchor and transosseous tunnel fixation methods yield similar clinical results. However, the transosseous technique required more fluoroscopy shots.

Key words: TFCC, transosseous tunnel, suture-anchor, fovea