Primary repair of the “spaghetti wrist” with good functional outcome

Abstract

Objective: “Spaghetti wrist” injuries are by their nature devastating as the hand makes a great difference in the life of every individual. The outcome in terms of return of function is good if primary repair is done at presentation.
Patient And Method: This is case report of a patient who presented with a glass cut involving the right wrist with injury to multiple structures that had primary repair.
Result: A 33 year old male with “spaghetti wrist” from a glass cut had his wrist explored under General Anaesthesia with a tourniquet and the transected tendons, ulnar and median nerves were repaired primarily. The hand was rehabilitated with Kleinert traction. Eighteen months after the injury, the sensation and power of the hand was very good except for slight weakness of the adductors of the index, ring and little fingers.
Conclusion: “Spaghetti wrist” injury is a devastating injury because of the type and number of structures that are injured. An early repair of the injured structures can achieve satisfactory results.

Keywords: Spaghetti wrist, flexor tendons, ulnar nerve, median nerve, early repair and outcome.

Nigerian Journal of Plastic Surgery Vol. 3 (2) 2007: pp. 42-46