From Mdwiki | Triquetral fracture | |
|---|---|
| Other names: Triquetrum fracture | |
![]() | |
| Triquetral avulsion fracture as seen on lateral X-ray of the wrist | |
| Specialty | Hand surgery |
| Symptoms | Wrist pain and swelling[1][2] |
| Complications | Stiffness, instability[3] |
| Types | Dorsal cortical, body, palmer cortical[4] |
| Diagnostic method | X-rays[3] |
| Differential diagnosis | Lunate dislocation, pisiform fracture, trapezium fracture, hamate fracture[4] |
| Treatment | Casting, surgery[3][1] |
| Prognosis | Generally good[3] |
Triquetral fracture is a break of the triquetral bone of the wrist.[3] Symptoms include pain in the wrist.[1] This is often worsened by bending the wrist forwards or backwards and swelling over the back of the wrist maybe present.[4][2] Associated injuries may include a perilunate dislocation.[4] Complications can include stiffness or instability of the wrist.[3]
It most commonly occurs as a result of a fall onto the hand or being pulled appart by an attached ligament.[3] Other causes may include a direct blow.[1] Diagnosis is generally based on wrist X-rays, though CT scaning can also be useful.[3] Types include dorsal cortical (most common), body, and palmer cortical.[4]
Treatment is generally by casting for 4 to 6 weeks.[3] If the peices are seperated, surgery maybe indicated.[1] Outcomes are generally good with dorsal cortical fractures, while in palmer cortical fractures it may be mixed.[3]
Triquetral fractures represent about 15% of breaks of bones within the wrist, making it the second or third most common after scaphoid and lunate fractures.[3][2][1] They were first described at least as early as 1933 by Thompson.[5]
Categories: [RTT]