QUESTION: The AMA Guides Fifth Edition, Table 16-27, Impairment of the Upper Extremity After Arthroplasty of Specific Bones or Joints (p. 506), provides upper extremity ratings dependent on the level of arthroplasty. I am evaluating a case in which the surgery was described as “arthrotomy and arthroplasty of the wrist joints at the level of the ulnocarpal joint and the radioulnar joint with release of the scarring of the distal radioulnar joint.” The operative report states, in part,“…dissection was carried…down to the shaft of the distal ulna. The capsulectomy and capsulotomy were then performed releasing all the scars of the radioulnar joint…and care was taken not to disrupt the meniscus homologue or distal radioulnar joint in order not to destabilize the wrist.” Would Table 16-27 be used in this situation? If so, what level of arthroplasty would...
