Transverse carpal ligament tear at the trapezial ridge without fracture - the “trapezial ridge line” sign: two case reports

A tear of the transverse carpal ligament attachment at the trapezial ridge without associated fracture has not been previously described. We present a detailed description of a 16-year-old Caucasian male patient treated at our institution, and a second supporting case of a 15-year-old Caucasian male patient with a similar mechanism of injury and diagnostic findings. It is important to be aware of this ligament tear, as it may affect clinical management, is occult on computed tomography, and only detectable on magnetic resonance imaging, stressing the worth of magnetic resonance imaging in the setting of acute wrist trauma.