Perilunate Management

April 27, 2026 updated by: Nicole Zelenski, Emory University

Outcomes of Perilunate Injury Management: Open vs Arthroscopic Approach

Perilunate injuries can be debilitating injuries that involve the carpus. These can limit patients' functionality both acutely and long-term. Not only do their potential for nerve injury increase risk of lasting weakness and chronic pain, but their complex surrounding involving the carpus also leads to potential for misalignment when healing. The approach for treating perilunate injuries often relies on internal fixation, prompting the need for surgery. However, there is no clear recommendation for whether to pursue open or arthroscopic surgery as both offer benefits and pose risks.

The aim of this study is to determine the similarities and differences in outcomes for management of perilunate injuries.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Perilunate injuries are those that affect the wrist, which can be debilitating to patients. Often, these injuries require surgical treatment, which can either be performed open or arthroscopically. There is currently no consensus on which approach offers better outcomes. Therefore, this study will allocate patients who require surgical treatment of perilunate injuries to either open or arthroscopic surgical intervention to compare their outcomes. The results will offer insight into the compromises made with each surgical approach and create a foundation that orthopedic surgeons can leverage to decide how to manage a patient to ensure the best possible outcomes.

This study will involve 12 patients who were identified as having perilunate injuries requiring orthopedic surgical treatment. Their participation will involve consenting to be randomly allocated to the surgical approach, and they will be asked to complete commonly used orthopedic surveys (e.g., DASH score) that are used to evaluate the functional healing of their injury. They will be followed up for up to 1 year after their surgery. A chart review will be conducted to follow their progress and surgical outcomes.

Patients will be recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital. No specimens will be collected or banked for this study.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
9

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30303
        • Grady Memorial Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • All adult patients (18 years old and older).
  • Patients requiring surgical intervention for a perilunate injury will be consented and then randomly allocated to either open or arthroscopic surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prisoners will not be included in this study.
  • Patients younger than 18 years old and pregnant patients will be excluded from this review.
  • Patients who require a specific surgical approach for their treatment cannot be randomly allocated to one of the study arms, so they will be excluded from this study.
  • The study will not include data from minors, cognitively impaired individuals, or individuals who are vulnerable to coercion or under the influence.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Open procedure

The study intervention involved in this project is the randomized allocation of the patient who requires surgical treatment of their perilunate injury to receive either an open or arthroscopic approach for the procedure.

Once the patient is in agreement to have surgery and has consented to partake in the study, they will be randomly allocated to either open perilunate surgery or arthroscopic perilunate surgery.

Both surgical approaches are well-recognized, common, standard-of-care procedures.
Procedure: Open Surgery
The open approach requires dissection of capsuloligamentous structures, which can lead to stiffness of the joint due to capsular scarring as it heals. However, it offers good visual field when treating the injury, allowing maneuverability to avoid iatrogenic soft tissue injuries.
Active Comparator: Arthroscopic Procedure

The study intervention involved in this project is the randomized allocation of the patient who requires surgical treatment of their perilunate injury to receive either an open or arthroscopic approach for the procedure.

Once the patient is in agreement to have surgery and has consented to partake in the study, they will be randomly allocated to either open perilunate surgery or arthroscopic perilunate surgery.

Both surgical approaches are well-recognized, common, standard-of-care procedures.
Procedure: Arthroscopic surgery
Arthroscopic approach involves smaller incision, offering less traumatic procedures and faster healing, but due to the limited space in this closed field with significant vasculature and nerve distribution, scoping has increased risk for iatrogenic injuries.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: 12 weeks post-operation
The numeric rating scale is one of the most commonly used pain scales in medicine. The NRS consists of a numeric version of the visual analog scale. The most common form of the NRS is a horizontal line with an eleven point numeric range. It is labeled from zero to ten, with zero being an example of someone with no pain and ten being the worst pain possible.
12 weeks post-operation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Range of motion
Time Frame: 12 weeks post-operation
Range of motion (ROM) means the extent or limit to which a part of the body can be moved around a joint or a fixed point; the totality of movement a joint is capable of doing. A range of motion test, also called a flexibility test, is used to measure the degree of movement of a joint. A goniometer is an instrument that is used to measure the range of motion of a joint.
12 weeks post-operation

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Emory University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Nicole Zelenski, MD, Assistant Professor
  • Principal Investigator: Eric R Wagner, MD, Assistant Professor

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 3, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 24, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 24, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 11, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 11, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 21, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 30, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 27, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY00005088
  • 2025P013453 (Other Identifier: Emory Insight Humans IRB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings