Abstract
Introduction The pediatric chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type I is a recognized syndrome
that follows a preliminary event (e.g., trauma, fracture) with amplified spontaneous
or stimuli-induced extremity pain that differs from its adult form with rather favorable
outcomes. Conservative treatment is usually indicated for CRPS treatment.
Case Description We present a unique case of an adolescent girl who revealed severe wrist joint sequelae
following a blunt trauma, complicated by a challenging CRPS resistant to treatment.
Diagnostic wrist arthroscopy eventually revealed a massive cartilage degeneration
and scapholunate tear as underlying causes for the pain and CRPS. It was decided to
proceed with radioscapholunate wrist fusion, which promptly led to pain relief and
disappearance of the CRPS.
Conclusion The relevance of this report is therefore to emphasize the possibility, against earlier
thoughts, that well-indicated surgeries in pediatric CRPS patients may lead to prompt
symptom improvement and may not be uniformly predicted to fail. With the clinical
probability of a presence of an uncontrolled, symptomatic causative factor such as
cartilage degeneration and chondrolysis, further early diagnostic and therapeutic
interventions may be indicated to control the disease.
Keywords
radiocarpal cartilage destruction - scapholunate ligament dissociation - radioscapholunate
fusion - chronic regional pain syndrome