Scaphoid fractures as frequently overseen injuries often result in scaphoid non-unions, that need to be treated to prevent carpal collapse and secondary cartilage damage. Vital bone tissue and compression of fracture and bone graft ends seem to be crucial in for ossification and final bone healing. In the present study we compare our results using a high compression screw (HCS Synthes(®)) to re...

Reconstruction of bone is often required for large bone defects and also in cases of impaired bone regeneration. Vascularized bone transfer has been widely used for reconstruction, especially for segmental mandibular defects, and for reconstruction of long bones of the upper limb and lower limb after trauma or after significant bone resection for tumour. It has also been used in cases of scapho...

Although most recent fractures of the carpal scaphoid unite with immobilisation in a well-fitting plaster, some fail to do so within a reasonable time, say three months. Fractures associated with perilunar dislocation are particularly prone to delay. For these, as well as for fractures showing delayed union or non-union, internal fixation provides a speedy return to activity. Over a period of t...

Up to 30 % of acute scaphoid fractures are missed in conventional radiography. CT and MRI should be early performed in the diagnostic workflow, when radiograms (dorsopalmar, lateral and Stecher's views) are negative or inconclusive in fracture detection. Significance of CT is different from that of MRI: Sensitivity of CT imaging (85 to 95 %) is superior to conventional radiography (about 70 %),...

We treated 50 patients with fractures of the waist of the scaphoid in a below-elbow plaster cast for up to 13 weeks. Displacement of the fragments was assessed independently by two observers using MRI and radiographs performed within two weeks of injury. The MRI assessments showed that only the measurement of sagittal translation of the fragments and an overall assessment of displacement had sa...

The scaphoid is the second largest of the carpal bones and is named due to its boat-like shape (derived from the Greek word scaphon). It is situated laterally in the proximal carpal row, articulating with the distal radius proximally and forms joints with the lunate, capitate, trapezoid and trapezium. The scaphoid can be divided into proximal, mid and distal thirds for ease of description. The ...