The management of acute complete ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb
Mikhail, Mark Riley, Nicholas Rodrigues, Jeremy Carr, Elaine Horton, Robin Beale, Nicholas Beard, David J Dean, Benjamin JF UCL TEAR Collaborative Clubb, Lucy
Mikhail, Mark
Riley, Nicholas
Rodrigues, Jeremy
Carr, Elaine
Horton, Robin
Beale, Nicholas
Beard, David J
Dean, Benjamin JF
UCL TEAR Collaborative
Clubb, Lucy
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Affiliation
Oxford University Hospital NHS Trust, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust et al
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Publication date
21/08/2024
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Abstract
Complete ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the thumb are a common injury, yet little is known about their current management in the UK. The objective of this study was to assess the way complete UCL ruptures are managed in the UK. We carried out a multicentre, survey-based cross-sectional study in 37 UK centres over a 16-month period from June 2022 to September 2023. The survey results were analyzed descriptively. A total of 37 centres participated, of which nine were tertiary referral hand centres and 28 were district general hospitals. There was a total of 112 respondents (69 surgeons and 43 hand therapists). The strongest influence on the decision to offer surgery was the lack of a firm 'endpoint' to stressing the metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) in either full extension or with the MCPJ in 30� of flexion. There was variability in whether additional imaging was used in managing acute UCL injuries, with 46% routinely using additional imaging while 54% did not. The use of a bone anchor was by far the most common surgical option for reconstructing an acute ligament avulsion (97%, n = 67) with a transosseous suture used by 3% (n = 2). The most common duration of immobilization for those managed conservatively was six weeks (58%, n = 65) and four weeks (30%, n = 34). Most surgeons (87%, n = 60) and hand therapists (95%, n = 41) would consider randomizing patients with complete UCL ruptures in a future clinical trial. Conclusion: The management of complete UCL ruptures in the UK is highly variable in certain areas, and there is a willingness for clinical trials on this subject. Competing Interests: B. J. F. Dean and M.Mikhail report a British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) pump priming grant for this study. B. J. F. Dean also reports a British Medical Association Doris Hillier grant which was unrelated to this study. B. J. F. Dean is also a member of the BSSH research committee. D. J. Beard holds a Senior Investigator grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research, unrelated to this study. M. Mikhail reports a BSSH grant to the ULCTEAR steering group for this study
Citation
Mikhail M, Riley N, Rodrigues J, Carr E, Horton R, Beale N, Beard DJ, Dean BJF; UCL TEAR Collaborative; Clubb L, Johnstone A, Lawrie D, Imam M, Joyce S, Ankarth S, Capp R, Dayananda K, Gape N, Trickett R, Bremner-Smith A, Chan C, Eckersley R, Horwitz M, Jatan A, Lumsdaine W, McArthur G, Mee S, Banks L, Dean S, Dehbozorgi S, Green K, Meh S, Fawkes F, Rooker J, Bell H, Vaghela K, Fournier K, Kennedy D, Li L, Srinivasan S, Gamble D, Gerakopoulos E, Groves J, Jackson T, Karuppaiah K, Maltby A, Nair A, Reichert I, Bains R, Mariathas C, Reilly F, Sharpe L, Wildin C, Feeney M, Kulkarni A, Sharma V, Flaherty S, Gough A, Hamlin K, King L, Law C, Johnson S, Svee C, Khan Y, Rodgers S, Storey P, Dean B, Sander-Danby L, Shields K, Torkington M, Blackshaw R, Chaudhry T, Jordan L, Wu F, Clarke D, Robinson E, Thumbadoo R, Parkinson M, Sharpe K, Allen M, Poulter R, Currie J, Stone O, Cliff N, Duckworth A, Cowey A, Crossfield J, Giddins G, Heath R, Langdon I, Mgbemena L, Mills R, Pickering G, Sheriff M, McDonough A, Naqui Z, Lyons N, Reay E, Taylor T, Bates M, Eastwood G, McLoughlin-Symon I, Ramesh A, Chan J, Govilkar P, Shirley R, Upson C, Sajid S, Carr E, Langley C, Higgins J, Armstrong A, Gujral S, Howe A, Ip M, Thornsby J, Slade R, Knowles L, Lipscombe S, Goggins T, Talwalkar S. The management of acute complete ruptures of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb. Bone Jt Open. 2024 Aug 22;5(8):708-714. doi: 10.1302/2633-1462.58.BJO-2024-0062.R1.