Ischemic necrosis of the lunate: Correlative study of MR imaging, Bone

Twenty patients with suspected ischemic necrosis of the lunate underwent MR imaging, conventional radiography, and bone scintigraphy. Surgery was later performed in 11 patients. In all cases MR imaging showed the typical reduction of signal intensity of the affected bone marrow. Early and late changes were visualized with good anatomic resolution. For early detection of ischemic necrosis, MR imaging is superior to bone scintigraphy and conventional radiography. MR imaging aids in surgical planning and can be used to evaluate vitalization of bone graft reconstruction of the lunate