Imaging Evaluation
Radiography
Diagnostic modalities for evaluation of the PTT have evolved since Kurowski’s report on tenosynovitis in 1936. However, a standard protocol for PTT imaging has yet to be accepted. In 1986, Funk et al 55 noted that four different types of PTT lesions were found during surgical exploration.. The authors reported the impossibility of distinguishing the four groups by clinical or radiographic measures before surgery. Funk et al looked at 19 patients who underwent surgical exploration after failed primary conservative treatment for PTT dysfunction. They determined that preoperative radiographs were of little added value in diagnosis, and the various lesions that might be present in the PTT can be suspected clinically, but a precise diagnosis cannot be made until the tendon is exposed surgically. In this study, the preoperative radiograph was the only advanced imaging modality used.