Galeazzi fracture-dislocations result from severe trauma leading to loss of function of the wrist and forearm if not treated appropriately. To avoid such disastrous consequences, meticulous surgical management of the injury must be carried out.
The prevailing literature speaks about symptomatic distal radioulnar joint injuries in Galeazzi fracture-dislocations and the various approaches to managing instability.
But, unfortunately, there is a shortage of data on the true incidence of injury to the triangular fibrocartilage in the backdrop of the severity of the mechanism of Galeazzi fractures and the damage that it may perpetrate as the triangular fibrocartilage complex is not inspected routinely as part of the management of such cases.
We did a retrospective review of 6 consecutive Galeazzi fracture dislocations with indicative radiological parameters of a DRUJ disruption. Wrist arthrosocopy was performed in all 6 cases
Arthroscopy revealed complex tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex involving large segments of the ligament and always involving the dorsal periphery. All tears followed the same pattern of disruption of the attachments of at least two sides of the triangular fibrocartilage complex.
Our shows a definitive pattern of a tear of the TFCC in all Galeazzi fracture dislocations with positive radiological parameters. We believe our data will pave the path to further prospective studies in understanding the degree of damage in the triangular fibrocartilage in such devastating injuries and the need for meticulous arthroscopic repair.
