# One-year follow-up of patients with Palmer type IIC central perforation of triangular fibrocartilage complex tears treated with arthroscopic absorbable suture repair and conservative treatment

## TL;DR

This study compares arthroscopic absorbable suture repair and conservative treatment for triangular fibrocartilage complex tears, finding similar clinical outcomes but reduced pain with surgery.

## Contribution

The study provides new comparative evidence on pain relief and clinical outcomes for two treatment approaches in Palmer type IIC TFCC tears.

## Key findings

- No significant difference in Modified Mayo Wrist Scores between treatment groups.
- Arthroscopic repair significantly reduced pain scores compared to conservative treatment.
- Postoperative complications occurred in 4 out of 25 surgical patients.

## Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the clinical results of arthroscopic absorbable suture repair versus conservative treatment in the management of patients with Palmer type IIC central perforation of triangular fibrocartilage complex tears.

Between September 2022 and February 2023, 50 patients with Palmer type IIC central perforation of triangular fibrocartilage complex tears at our hospital were retrospectively enrolled and included in this study, with a 1-year follow-up. Patients were classified into two groups for different treatment methods: 25 patients received conservative treatment and 25 patients received arthroscopic absorbable suture repair. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, intraoperative arthroscopic findings, and postoperative complications were recorded. Outcome measures were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Modified Mayo Wrist Score (MMWS).

All patients completed the 1 year follow-up. In the conservative treatment group, the average VAS score was 3 ± 0.7 and the average MMWS was 83.3 ± 4.8. In the surgical group, the average VAS score was 2 ± 0.7 and the average MMWS was 85.1 ± 3.9. The two groups showed no statistically significant difference in MMWS values. On the other hand, statistically significant differences were demonstrated in VAS scores. Postoperative complications, including surgical site infection and wrist joint stiffness, were observed in four patients of the 25.

There were no statistically significant differences in the clinical outcomes between the absorbable repair and conservative treatment groups. However, absorbable repair surgery could effectively alleviate patients’ pain symptoms.