Figure Legend: Scapholunate dissociation due to a recent ligament disruption has a more favorable outcome following surgical repair than chronic injuries. However, acute injuries may be superimposed on pre-existing injuries and these have a much less favorable prognosis following surgical repair.  Wrist arthroscopy is helpful in determining age of injury to a certain extent.  Prior to surgery, bilateral stress radiographs should be obtained. Bilateral scapholunate diastasis, particularly when symptoms are unilateral, suggests that the presumed acute ligament injury is either chronic or that the radiographs demonstrate a congenital scapholunate gap.  This finding, as shown above, reduces the likelihood that the patient will have a straightforward surgically correctable lesion.
 

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