Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2024 Jan:114:109146.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2023.109146. Epub 2023 Dec 15.

Unusual case report of concomitant lunate and scaphoid fractures without associated dislocation in a 16-year-old male

Dylan Shafer  1 , John Ngo  2 , Ashley Lamb  3 , Sahil Vohra  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Unusual case report of concomitant lunate and scaphoid fractures without associated dislocation in a 16-year-old male

Dylan Shafer et al. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction and importance: Lunate fractures without associated dislocations are rare injuries, combination scaphoid-lunate fractures without an associated dislocation are even more rare of which few are reported in the literature.

Case presentation: This case report describes a 16-year-old otherwise healthy male with ipsilateral scaphoid and lunate fractures after punching a goalpost with his left hand, for which he had surgical management. This patient had a successful treatment with two headless compression screws through a single extended carpal tunnel approach. Surgery was performed within two weeks of injury after initially immobilized with a thumb spica splint. The postoperative period was complicated by noncompliance with weight-bearing status and missed three-month followup. However, by six months, subsequent visits demonstrated radiographic and clinical healing as well as full wrist range of motion without any other sequelae.

Clinical discussion: This case offers more evidence regarding this rare injury. Lunate fractures and scaphoid fractures can both be treated with open reduction and internal fixation using headless compression screws, however little evidence exists when it comes to treating them in combination.

Conclusion: The use of headless compression screws through a single extended carpal tunnel approach led to clinical and radiographic healing in a 16 year-old-male with combined scaphoid and lunate fractures at 6 month follow up.

Keywords: Carpal fractures; Case report; Headless compression screw; Lunate fracture; Scaphoid fracture.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement No conflicts of interest to report from any of the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
XR demonstrating a scaphoid waist fracture and a coronally oriented lunate fracture.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pre op CT with axial cuts (A–C) and sagittal cuts (D–F) demonstrating coronally oriented fracture of lunate and scaphoid waist fracture.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Lateral fluoroscopic imaging demonstrating anatomic reduction of the scaphoid and lunate.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Six month post-op CT with axial cuts (A–C) and sagittal cuts (D–F) demonstrating complete radiographic healing of both fractures.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Clinical image demonstrating full symmetric wrist extension.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Clinical image demonstrating full symmetric wrist flexion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Takase K., Yamamoto K. Unusual combined scaphoid and lunate fracture of the wrist: a case report. J. Hand Surg. 2006;31:414–417. - PubMed
    1. Teisen H., Hjarbaek J. Classification of fresh fractures of the lunate. J. Hand Surg. Br. Eur. 1988;13:458–462. - PubMed
    1. McQueen M.M., Gelbke M.K., Wakefield A., Will E.M., Gaebler C. Percutaneous screw fixation versus conservative treatment for fractures of the waist of the scaphoid: a prospective randomised study. J. Bone Joint Surg. Br. 2008;90:66–71. - PubMed
    1. Hackney L.A., Dodds S.D. Assessment of scaphoid fracture healing. Curr. Rev. Musculoskelet. Med. 2011;4:16–22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dennis H.H.W., Sze A.C.K., Murphy D. Prevalence of carpal fracture in Singapore. J. Hand Surg. 2011;36:278–283. - PubMed

Publication types