Treatment of Kienbock’s Disease by an Experimental Conservative Approach: Case report

Abstract

Kienböck’s disease is characterized by avascular necrosis of the lunate bone. There are four stages due to the severity of the disease. A 52-year-old woman was referred to the Tehran Healthcare Clinic to treat the stage II Kienböck’s disease according to the clinical finding and MRI report. Her main complaint was a painful feeling in the dorsal wrist, decreased range of motion of the wrist, and reduced grip strength for one year. The treatment was achieved after completion of our conservative course by special vibration therapy in less than two months. Even though the conservative approaches are generally not recommended in treatment of Kienböck’s disease and in many cases surgeon’s preference (radial shortening osteotomy for early disease and PRC in later stages), our theory is that the aggressive procedure should be the second choice of treatment, especially in the early stages (I and II).