Biomechanics of the wrist after proximal row carpectomy in cadavers.
We investigated the biomechanics of the radiocapitate joint after a proximal row carpectomy in six fresh-frozen cadaver wrists using super-low-pressure-sensitive film on a material testing system. The average pressure within the lunate fossa increased significantly from 23.2 to 136.4 N/cm(2) with a sharp decrease in the contact area from 2.08 to 0.30 cm(2) after a proximal row carpectomy. The cartilage of the proximal capitate had four sub-facets and therefore was not as smooth as the normal proximal lunate. We found that the wrist was overloaded after a proximal row carpectomy and the main cause was the anatomical mismatch of the radiocapitate articulation.
Orthopaedic Department, Kunming General Hospital, Third Military Medical University, China. xuyongqingkm@yahoo.cn
Y-L
YL
Zhu
Y-Q
YQ
Xu
J
J
Ding
J
J
Li
B
B
Chen
Y-F
YF
Ouyang
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002102:Cadaver; D002348:Carpal Bones / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D011312:Pressure; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*