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“With excellent medical skills and outstanding character, and warm service like family,” recently, Dr. Zhang Chaoming from the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department (Sports Medicine Department) of Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital received a banner from patient Mr. Yu, expressing his high recognition of Dr. Zhang’s superb medical skills and gratitude for his care. Mr. Yu, who was troubled by a triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) injury that prevented normal movement of his right wrist, underwent a minimally invasive wrist arthroscopy in this department and is now recovering well, able to perform high-intensity actions such as badminton smashes.
Patient presenting the banner
The story began a year ago when Mr. Yu suffered wrist pain due to a collision injury. After three months of conservative treatment, the pain persisted, affecting his daily life. He later sought treatment at our hospital’s Sports Medicine Center wrist clinic. Dr. Zhang Chaoming conducted a detailed medical history inquiry and thorough physical examination, combined with MRI and X-ray results, diagnosing him with a triangular fibrocartilage complex injury.
According to Dr. Zhang, TFCC injuries are a common cause of ulnar-sided wrist pain. The anatomical structure of the TFCC is complex, consisting of meniscal homologs, a cartilage disc, and multiple ligaments. These structures work together to maintain the stability of the ulnar wrist joint. Once damaged, it can lead to ulnar-sided wrist pain, instability of the distal radioulnar joint, and limitations in actions such as wringing a towel, pushing against a bed, or twisting a throttle, severely affecting the patient’s daily functional capabilities.
Dr. Zhang mentioned that treatment for TFCC injuries includes both conservative and surgical options, with the specific choice depending on factors such as the type of injury, patient age, and work activity requirements. The treatment of TFCC injuries presents many challenges, such as diverse injury types, lack of blood supply in the central region, poor healing capacity, and the need to consider bony structural abnormalities of the wrist.
Research indicates that arthroscopic surgery has good clinical outcomes for treating TFCC injuries, significantly improving patients’ pain symptoms and wrist function, with advantages of minimally invasive damage, high precision, good treatment effects, and quick postoperative recovery.
Mr. Yu, being relatively young, also had high functional requirements for his joints. Dr. Zhang, along with Dr. Xu Ting, the head of the wrist specialty group in the Sports Medicine Department, conducted meticulous preoperative planning and utilized 3D printing personalized guide technology to assist in performing right wrist arthroscopy, arthroscopic cleaning, and repair of the triangular fibrocartilage complex injury.
3D guide plate repair under arthroscopy
Postoperatively, Dr. Zhang conducted regular follow-ups, inquiring about the wrist condition and guiding rehabilitation exercises. Nine months after the surgery, Mr. Yu’s wrist daily living capabilities had returned to normal, and he could perform high-intensity actions such as badminton smashes. Mr. Yu continuously praised Dr. Zhang for this.
It is reported that due to the complex structure of the TFCC and its small volume, the required operational precision must reach millimeter levels. Our hospital’s Sports Medicine Center wrist specialty group, combining years of clinical experience, utilizes 3D printing technology to accurately reconstruct a three-dimensional model of the distal radius and design a personalized suture guide, achieving good clinical results. This research has now entered the list of the “Foshan Science and Technology Plan Project (Medical Science and Technology Research)” and Dr. Zhang has been invited to present at top academic conferences in China multiple times.
Dr. Zhang sharing at the COA International Academic Conference
Additionally, the Sports Medicine Department wrist specialty group has also skillfully carried out advanced treatment techniques such as 3D printing-assisted TFCC repair reconstruction under arthroscopy, 3D printing personalized guide plate-assisted ulnar osteotomy correction, orthopedic robot-assisted scaphoid-lunate fracture reduction, arthroscopic and ultrasound dual-monitor wrist dorsal tendon sheath cyst excision and carpal tunnel release, and arthroscopic necrotic bone cleaning and bone grafting, providing patients with more precise and effective treatment options, highly recognized by the industry and patients.
Introduction to the Sports Medicine Center
Since its establishment in 2015, the Sports Medicine Center of Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital has become a well-known sports medicine center in China, performing over 3,000 minimally invasive surgeries each year for shoulder, knee, elbow, wrist, and hip joints, either arthroscopically or with arthroscopic assistance. The center advocates a treatment philosophy that combines conservative treatment, traditional Chinese medicine, minimally invasive surgery, and sports rehabilitation, formulating personalized stepwise treatment plans to achieve maximum efficacy with minimal or no trauma, helping patients return to daily life and sports as soon as possible.
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Authors: Zhang Chaoming, Fu Chuying
Images: Orthopedics and Traumatology Department
Produced by the All-Media Team of Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital
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