Kienböck Disease
(Kienböck's Disease)
(See also Overview of Hand Disorders.)
The lunate bone is one of the carpals in the wrist.
Kienböck disease is relatively rare. It is not known why the blood supply to the lunate bone becomes impaired. People typically do not remember being injured. It occurs most commonly in the dominant hand of men aged 20 to 45 years, usually in workers doing heavy manual labor.
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of Kienböck disease is possible at an early stage by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) and, if necessary, is later confirmed by x-rays.
Treatment
Surgery is done to relieve pressure on the lunate bone, for example, by lengthening or shortening bones that connect to the lunate bone. Alternative surgical treatments are done in an attempt to reestablish the blood supply to the lunate bone (such as a bone graft or blood vessel graft). If the lunate bone has collapsed, the wrist bones may be removed or surgically fused together (called arthrodesis) as a last resort to relieve pain.
Attempts to treat this disease with methods other than surgery have not been successful, but wearing a wrist splint may relieve pain in very mild cases.
