Wrist Arthroscopy – Diagnostic and Therapeutic
Wrist pain can be caused by a wide variety of problems. Diagnosis often requires physical examination as well as X-rays and, in some cases, advanced imaging modalities such as MRI. However, none of these diagnostic techniques are 100% accurate all of the time. As such, the cause of a patient’s wrist pain may not always be perfectly clear. Dr. Master has gained extensive clinical experience with wrist arthroscopy (looking inside the wrist joint with a small camera). The benefit of this technique is that it allows for direct visualization of many structures inside the wrist without making large incisions. Wrist arthroscopy can often shed light on a diagnosis which has remained unclear. In addition, this technique can also allow for treatment of the identified problem with a minimally invasive approach (i.e., without open surgery).
Wrist Arthroscopic-Assisted Reduction
Dr. Master also has extensive experience with wrist arthroscopy (looking inside of the wrist joint with a camera). This technique can also be used during the treatment of complex wrist fractures. The benefit is that it allows Dr. Master to directly visualize portions of the wrist bone which cannot typically be seen during surgery. This added visualization allows Dr. Master to make small adjustments to the bones to make sure they are lined up perfectly.
Wrist Fracture Treatment With Fragment-Specific Fixation
Dr. Master has gained significant experience with the operative treatment of complex distal radius (wrist) fractures with fragment-specific internal fixation. The majority of wrist fractures that need surgery can be treated adequately with a single plate; however, more complex wrist fracture patterns cannot always be controlled with this technique. In these cases, Dr. Master will use more than one device to hold each portion of the wrist bone in the correct position while it heals. The benefit of this technique is that it can decrease the risk of the wrist bones healing in the incorrect position (malunion).
Wrist Ligament Treatment
There are many ligaments in the wrist that can be injured and lead to significant pain. These injuries are often difficult to detect and treat. Dr. Master has gained extensive experience with wrist arthroscopy (looking inside the wrist joint with a small camera) which allows him to identify these ligament injuries. In addition, Dr. Master also has learned a variety of minimally invasive techniques that he can use to treat the ligament injury. He has significant experience using a small heat probe to shrink the ligaments as well as using pins to hold the wrist bones together while the ligaments heal. Finally, Dr. Master has also learned a multitude of techniques to reconstruct damaged wrist ligaments if they are too damaged to be repaired.
Wrist TFCC Treatment
Many patients have pain along the ulnar side of their wrist (the side of the wrist closer to the small finger). This type of pain can be caused by an injury to a cartilage disc inside of the wrist joint known as the TFCC (triangular fibrocartilage complex). Dr. Master has gained extensive experience in the nonoperative and operative treatment of this injury. For patients who require operative treatment, Dr. Master has learned a cutting edge technique to repair the TFCC through only small, percutaneous (2 – 3 mm) incisions. The benefit of this technique is that they typically have less pain than with formal open surgery.
