Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Surgically Treated Wrists with Kienböck Disease.

Objectives: We hypothesized that the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in wrists with surgically treated Kienböck disease does not differ from its prevalence in the general population.

Methods: This cross sectional study investigated 53 patients (25 males and 28 females) with surgically treated Kienböck disease for clinical and electrophysiological CTS. The mean age of the patients was 37±11 years (SD), and the mean interval between treatment and this study was 64±9 months (SE). Among these cases, 29 involved the right wrist and 24 involved the left wrist. Based on the Lichtman staging system, there were 17 stage II cases, 18 stage IIIA cases, 15 stage IIIB cases, and 3 stage IV cases. Surgical interventions included radial shortening osteotomy with plate and screw fixation in 38 patients, capitate shortening osteotomy in 12 patients, vascularized bone graft in 2 patients, and wrist arthrodesis in one patient.

Results: Five patients (9.4 %) had clinically and electrophysiologically confirmed CTS; all of whom were housewives, aged between 24 and 60 years. Two of these patients were explicitly treated for CTS in the Kienböck disease affected wrist.

Conclusion: The prevalence of CTS in the wrists Kienböck disease was higher than 3-4% prevalence reported in the general population. These findings suggest a potential relationship between the two conditions rather than a coincidental occurrence within a similar population.