Primary aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) in the small tubular bones of the hands are rare and optimal treatment is not yet established. Between August 1997 and June 2009, 12 patients with biopsy-proven expansile primary ABCs of the small tubular bones of the hand were treated with en bloc tumor excision and strut autograft reconstruction. The adjacent joint was preserved if feasible, otherwise it was fused. Patients were followed for at least 2 years (mean = 7 years). All grafts were incorporated except for partial resorption in one. There was only one tumor recurrence about 1 year after the operation. Other complications included premature physeal arrest in one case and limitation of adjacent joint motion in three. A relatively low rate of recurrence and other complications indicates that this technique would serve as a good strategy for patients with expansile ABCs in the hand in terms of safety, simplicity and reduced number of re-operations.

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Ganglion cysts of the dorsal wrist are generally attached to the scapholunate interosseous ligament, and surgical removal could injure this ligament. Such injury could rarely result in postoperative scapholunate instability. To date, a few cases of scapholunate instability following the excision of the dorsal ganglion cyst of the wrist have been reported. In this report, we present a 23-year-old man with scapholunate instability following the surgical resection of the dorsal ganglion cyst of his wrist. The instability was treated with open reduction and reconstruction. One year follow-up of the patient was event-free. The patient had no pain and limitation and resumed his preoperative activities. According to this case, the iatrogenic or pre-existing nature of scapholunate instability following the surgical excision of the dorsal ganglion cyst of the wrist‎‏ cannot be determined. However, the patients should be informed of this complication before undergoing surgery.

Background: Kienbock’s disease is a rare and debilitating condition. The decision for surgical intervention majorly depends on the extent of the carpal collapse. Therefore, the accurate measurement of carpal collapse is of critical importance. Objectives: The current study assessed the inter and intra-observer reliability of the three most frequent methods in measuring carpal height and determining carpal collapse. Methods: Fifty-Nine photocopied radiograms were reviewed by three observers (one senior orthopedic resident, one fellowship-trained hand surgeon, and one senior radiology resident) at 3 consecutive time points. Besides, one-week intervals were considered between the evaluations. The evaluated measures included the Carpal Height Ratio (CHR), Revised Carpal Height Ratio (RCHR), and Capitate-Radius (CR) index. The reliability of the measurements in determining the carpal height was examined using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). The agreement of the measures on determining the presence or absence of the carpal collapse was assessed by Cohen’s Kappa (K) value. Results: The overall inter and intra-observer reliability of the CR index in quantifying the carpal collapse was measured as 0.863 and 0.942, respectively. The overall inter and intra-observer reliability of CHR in quantifying the carpal collapse was computed to be 0.615 and 0.891, respectively. The overall inter and intra-observer reliability of RCHR in quantifying the carpal collapse equaled 0.412 and 0.792, respectively. The overall K for determining the presence or absence of a carpal collapse was calculated as 0.776, 0.683, and 0.549 for CR index, CHR, and RCHR, respectively. Conclusion: The CR index is the most reliable approach to measure carpal height. Furthermore, it is appropriate for determining the presence or absence of carpal collapse.