New minimally invasive technique of treating patients with de Quervain’s disease

Abstract

A new minimally invasive technique is presented to improve the results and reduce the duration of treatment of patients with stenosing ligamentitis of dorsal carpal ligament (de Quervain’s disease). The high efficiency of the proposed method (on the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand scales and Visual Analogue Scale) is established, comparable with de Quervain’s open ligamentotomy but with the reduction of rehabilitation period after the surgery from 16-21 days to3-4 days. Clinical approbation of minimally invasive ligamentotomy in all patients revealed excellent long-term results of treatment, with minimal risk of complications. Comparison of the results of treatment of patients of both groups showed the advantage of minimally invasive ligamentotomy before open ligamentotomy in the early postoperative period with the same long-term results, which allows patients to start their labor and professional duties in the early stages. The proposed method can be performed in an outpatient mode and does not require special post-operative treatment, as well as special instruments and equipment, which allows reducing the costs of both the patient and the medical institution.