Back to 2025 Abstracts
Partial Wrist Denervation Improves Long-Term Functional Status without Impinging Wrist Mobility: A Single-Center, Retrospective Review
Audrey Mustoe
*, Chanthia Ma, Nicita Mehta, Felita Zhang, Micaela J. Tobin, Agustin N. Posso, Andrew Nguyen, Bernard T. Lee, Samuel J. Lin, Arthur Celestin
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Introduction Partial denervation is a surgical approach used to relieve wrist pain in patients with various wrist pathologies, though questions exist regarding its long-term impact on patient outcomes. This study evaluates the effects of partial wrist denervation on subjective pain scores, range of motion, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) scores.
Methods A retrospective review of medical records was conducted for patients who underwent partial wrist denervation at our hospital from 2015-2025. Data collected included age, demographics, and preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables. Preoperative and postoperative results were compared with paired t-tests. Significance was set at p≤0.05.
Results 146 patient records were reviewed, with a mean age at surgery of 56.7 years. The mean follow-up was 1.2 years, with a maximum of 9.1 years. The most common indications for denervation included scapholunate advanced collapse or scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse (28.8%), trauma-related injuries (21.9%), arthritis (10.3%), and synovitis (10.3%). The posterior interosseous nerve was the most frequently transected nerve (82.2%), followed by the anterior interosseous nerve (15.4%). 21.5% of patients required a subsequent reoperation and 8.9% required subsequent injections for analgesia. Most patients underwent a concurrent procedure during denervation (98.7%).
Patients demonstrated a significant improvement in DASH score (51.8 v. 41.6, p=0.007) and pain level (5.58 v. 2.75, p=0.0048) after their respective wrist procedure and denervation. Wrist motion was preserved with no significant differences in wrist flexion or extension.
Conclusion This study uniquely assessed the long-term outcomes of partial wrist denervation. Wrist denervation as an adjunct to a traditional wrist operation such as partial arthrodesis appears to improve long-term outcomes without decreasing wrist mobility. Further research with larger, prospective cohorts is warranted to better evaluate wrist denervation's role in pain relief and functional recovery.
