title: Universal Dorsal Approach of the Wrist.
abstract: The ideal dorsal wrist approach has to provide the best exposure while preserving sensitive dorsal nerve branches, dorsal veins, and skin integrity. Longitudinal incision is mostly used in the wrist surgery. Few anatomic or clinical studies have described transverse dorsal approach following Langer's lines. We present a universal transversal skin incision, the design of which meets the requirements of a dorsal wrist approach. It is adjustable with the radial and ulnar extension and respects Langer's lines, nerves, and veins. We conducted both an anatomic, clinical, and a retrospective study. For the anatomic part, we performed a cadaveric study on the wrist. For the clinical part of the study, we analyzed clinical results for 10 consecutive patients who underwent a universal dorsal wrist approach for various surgical procedures by the same surgeon. For the last part, we reviewed the patients operated during the past 5 years with this approach for different procedures in the wrist.
authors.affiliation: Institut de la Main, Clinique Jouvenet, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Grégoire
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciais
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Waitzenegger
authors.forename: Catalina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parot
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leclercq
mesh_terms: D004210:Dissection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D056888:Patient Positioning; D018579:Patient Selection; D014955:Wrist Joint / Q000601:surgery*