Suited to localised arthritis. Requires bone graft to be taken from the hip to allow the bones to heal together. Total fusion All movement at the wrist is prevented by fusing multiple joints. This is suitable when many of the wrist joint surfaces are arthritic or when PRC or limited fusion have failed to control pain. Requires bone graft to be taken from the hip.
All procedures involve a cut on the back of the wrist.
Fusion is achieved by the surgeon removing all of the surfaces of the joints to be fused with a burr or saw. The bone graft is packed into the joints to encourage the bone surfaces to join together. The last three are big operations and take a long time to get over. The wrist will never be as good as before injured or arthritic. In general, patients are most satisfied with a total fusion in the long run, despite the loss of movement.