Ligament repair with reinforcement/ augmentation evolved as hand surgeons looked at ways to make the UCL stronger after surgery...
Thumb MCP Joint Ligament Surgery
Evolution of Thumb MCP Joint Ligament Surgery
Surgical treatment of Gamekeeper’s/ Skier’s thumb involves repair or replacement of the injured UCL ligament in the thumb MCP joint. If the tear is recent and the tissue allows, the ligament can be stitched back together. Often, a small anchor is placed into the bone to help secure the repaired ligament. If the tear is older and/ or the tissue is not of good quality at surgery, it may be necessary to reconstruct (make a new UCL) rather than repair the native ligament. A tendon from elsewhere in the hand or wrist can be borrowed and anchored into the bones above and below to create a new UCL that will help keep the MCP joint stable. Good outcomes after surgery depend on the repaired or reconstructed ligament staying intact and healing back to the bone. Suture anchors help with healing to the bone. For strength of the UCL after surgery, surgeons looked at ways to strengthen the tissue and this led to a new technique involving the addition of a strong suture material to the UCL to make it more resistant to failure.
Related Technologies
Related Topics
Arthrex SutureTape is a flat suture that can be used for ligament repair or reconstruction with reinforcement/ augmentation. It...
When a tendon or ligament has to be reattached to bone, an anchor or screw is often used to...
Another way to strengthen the place where a repaired or reconstructed tendon or ligament meets bone is by drilling...
Gamekeeper’s/ Skier’s thumb is an injury to a particular ligament in the thumb at the level of the metacarpophalangeal...
