The role of arthroscopy in the treatment of wrist injuries in the athlete.

As a minimally invasive procedure, wrist arthroscopy provides the advantages of accurate, direct visual inspection of intra-articular structures for diagnostic purposes and dramatically reduced morbidity for surgical treatment of certain disorders. For an athlete who has a limited window of opportunity to compete, arthroscopy can offer an earlier, more accurate, more complete diagnosis than other imaging techniques for soft-tissue disorders of the wrist. Arthroscopic surgery can frequently offer an abbreviated recuperation period and earlier return to competition. Arthroscopy offers advantageous treatment options for extrinsic and intrinsic ligament injuries, removal of loose bodies, reduction of articular fractures of the distal radius and scaphoid and definitive treatment of injuries to the triangular fibrocartilage complex. It is a modality well worth including in the treatment armamentarium for wrist disorders in athletes.