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

Wrist arthroscopy provides an ideal means of evaluating intraarticular soft-tissue injuries of the wrist. Many lesions such as tears of the triangular fibrocartilage complex can be treated by arthroscopic means as well. Reduction of articular fractures of the distal radius and pin fixation, reduction of scaphoid fractures and intramedullary fixation, and arthroscopic reduction and transcutaneous pin stabilization of acute carpal dissociation patterns can all be accomplished with minimally invasive techniques under arthroscopic control. These measures often provide the athlete with shorter periods of immobilization and earlier return to athletic competition. Wrist arthroscopy provides a very useful adjunct to the treatment armamentarium of all sports medicine physicians.