Abstract
All five carpometacarpal dislocations including thumb are extremely rare. Following is a case report of such an injury.
A 41 year old woman was involved in a motorcycle accident, sustaining injuries to the right hand. Upon her hospital admission, there were lacerations on the dorsum of her thumb and thenar eminence. Radiographs showed dorsal dislocations of all of the five carpometacarpal joints and a fracture of the trapezium. Closed reduction was unsuccessful, and therefore, an open reduction was carried out, stability was obtained by fixation with Kirschner wires. Eight weeks later, a dynamic splint was used after the wires were removed. Four years after injury, fingers and wrist motions were equal bilaterally and grip strength was normal.
One of the reasons why this injury is extremely rare is the difference between the mechanism of the carpometacarpal dislocation of the thumb and that of the ulnar four fingers.
