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Breaking a fall, such as a tumble on the sidewalk, with your hands and wrists is everyone's natural reflex. But, if you fall hard enough, you'll often fracture your radius bone, or even one of the smaller wrist bones and wrist ligaments. Left untreated, these injuries could lead to disabling wrist arthritis.

For patients who develop wrist arthritis, a new surgical option known as OCRPRC (OsteoChondral Resurfacing in Proximal Row Carpectomy) is available at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, where it is offered by one of the orthopedic surgeons who originally developed and described the technique — Dr. Peter Tang. His research shows that the procedure reduces pain and improves hand function.

"I often see patients who had a wrist injury in the past who either did not seek medical attention or whose original injury was not diagnosed. As with most things in medicine, the earlier a diagnosis is made, the better the outcome. So if you continue to have pain after a month, you should make an appointment to see a hand surgeon for an evaluation," says Dr. Tang, who is an orthopedic hand surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Because the biomechanics of the wrist is both delicate and complex, an alteration in the normal anatomy can lead to arthritis. Once disabling arthritis develops, surgery cannot simply fix the injured structure, but rather must remove the arthritis and improve wrist function. The two most common operations for wrist arthritis are a partial fusion of the small wrist bones (intercarpal fusion) and excision of the first row of carpal bones (proximal row carpectomy, or PRC). There are various reasons to choose one operation over the other, but PRC has a quicker recovery, may be better for older patients, gives equal grip strength to intercarpal fusion, and usually results in more wrist motion.

Once the three carpal bones are removed during the PRC procedure, the capitate bone becomes the point where the wrist articulates with the arm; as such, it is important that the arthritis has not progressed to the capitate bone.

For these patients whose arthritis has progressed, Dr. Tang has adapted a cartilage-grafting technique that is used effectively in sports medicine treatments for cartilage disorders in the knee, ankle and elbow. The results are promising, according to his study in the Journal of Hand Surgery, with improvement in grip strength and decrease in pain levels.

"The goal of this new procedure is to give the best possible outcome by improving the cartilage status of the capitate bone. Another plus is that we do not have to take the graft from another part of the body. Even though we take out the three carpal bones for arthritis, there is usually one area of the bones where we can find undamaged cartilage for grafting," says Dr. Tang.

The study followed eight patients who underwent osteochondral resurfacing over 18 months. Preoperatively, seven patients described their pain as moderate to severe, while postoperatively, seven patients described their pain as mild to no pain, and one patient described the pain as moderate. Preoperative grip strength increased from 62 percent of their healthy side to postoperatively, 71 percent. Preoperative Mayo wrist score improved from a score of 51, which rates as "poor," to a postoperative score of 68, which rates as "fair."

The Journal of Hand Surgery study is co-authored by Dr. Joseph E. Imbriglia who is clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where Dr. Tang did his training. Interestingly, Dr. Imbriglia did both his orthopaedic residency and hand fellowship training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is now among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and state and one of the largest in the United States. For more information, please visit www.cumc.columbia.edu.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation's largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,242 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including more than 230,000 visits to its emergency departments — more than any other area hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Allen Pavilion and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the largest and most comprehensive health-care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. It ranks sixth in U.S.News & World Report's guide to "America's Best Hospitals," ranks first on New York magazine's "Best Hospitals" survey, has the greatest number of physicians listed in New York magazine's "Best Doctors" issue, and is included among Solucient's top 15 major teaching hospitals. The Hospital's mortality rates are among the lowest for heart attack and heart failure in the country, according to a 2007 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report card. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation's leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.