Scapholunate Ligament Reconstruction

[jackjack]

My problem at the moment is excessive scar tissue, everything has repaired very well, but the down side of that there are alot of adhesions inside where he did the op and everything he cut has bonbed very tightly. Most people get scar tissue that restricts slight movement, some more than others! He has many other patients who have had the same op that have full or almost full range of movement well before the 6 month mark, it's totally a personal thing, cannot really be predicted unless you have had issues in the past with previous scar tissue.

As for racket sport for me personally i'd say, yes I could play, just. I don't play squash or tennis but i'd say my main issue would be putting top or bottom spin (I hope thats the right phrase hehe) on a ball as I cannot (at the moment) flick my wrist into flexion enough. I could do basic shots, but any other shot would need some sort of adaption from me as a person.

I cannot move my hand back enough to do a press up, which obviously has consequences with opening doors ect, but you adapt, I now do everything with a fist or a fist with my thumb out, I crawl with my hands in a fist position rather than palm down, etc.

But please don't be put off by my experience, most people don't end up with the amount of scar tissue I have and therefore have ALOT more motion.

I'm still glad I had it done, i'd sooner loose some motion (alot in my case) to get rid of the pain.

[dibblego]

Thanks mate for the tip. I just got back from the squash court and my wrist is completely hosed. I think I have to go for it regardless. Got any more tips? Spending 8 weeks in a cast with a pinned joint sounds a bit inconvenient -- how did you do it?

[jackjack]

I was 6 weeks in a cast and then had another 6 weeks out of cast before I could go back to work, sick note was 12 weeks. I didn't have the joint pinned, it was done without all that, so can't really comment on having it pinned, sorry.

When I was in a cast I didn't have many issues, itching wasn't that bad either, I used a hair dryer (on cold ) to blow down the cast which helped abit. Sometimes when your arm or hand twitches, or if someone makes you jump, it can hurt alittle hehe, things like this only seemed to hurt for the first few weeks. Make sure to keeps moving your fingers to avoid them becoming stiff aswell!

All I'd say is, when your out of cast, take it slow, it will still hurt to do things as the joint regains it's mobility, massage the scar tissue to unteather it from the scar tissue underneath. Just be ready for a very weak hand and arm when you are out of the case, you will literally be able to see the difference.

Honestly, good luck with it mate! Any idea when they are talking about doing it?

[dibblego]

Going to see the doctor next week to give the go ahead, so probably a week or so after that. I'm planning to take one week from work (I do lots of maths at a desk).

[dibblego]

Hey mate, I am booked for surgery 21 July.

[dibblego]

Correction to the previous post: Surgery is 12 July.

[worshiper]

Chronic scapholunate ligament instability remains an unsolved problem. A variety of approaches have been described, including bone procedures, such as limited intercarpal fusions and proximal row carpectomy, as well as soft tissue procedures of ligament reconstruction such as direct repair, capsulodesis, tendon graft, and bone-ligament-bone graft. None are entirely satisfactory because of the common outcome of late failure. These cases demonstrate an unpublished soft tissue technique, employing a strip of extensor retinaculum attached to the dorsal triquetrum, inserted into the distal dorsal scaphoid to construct a dorsal intercarpal support along the path of the normal scaphotriquetral ligament.