[Dislocations of the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb--results of follow-up].

This report deals with twenty-nine dislocations of the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb--twenty-five closed and four compound dislocations, three of which were part of complex injuries of the hand--treated during the period 1957 to 1983. The closed dislocations comprised eighteen dorsal, three dorsal-ulnar, two dorsal-radial, one palmar, and one palmar-ulnar. The compound dislocations comprised one radial (isolated), one palmar-radial, one dorsal-radial, and one palmar-ulnar; the last three occurring together with complex injuries. Eleven patients were followed up after an average period of about eleven years. Closed dislocations including those with minor tears of ligaments and/or the joint capsule do not require operative treatment. Reduction and immobilization for four weeks in a plaster splint with inclusion of the thumb were sufficient; recurrence of the dislocations did not occur. The compound dislocations required temporary transarticular Kirschner wire fixation as the ligament and the capsule were completely torn.