[Bone healing after surgery for seudarthrosis of the carpal scaphoid]

The controversy around the treatment of carpal scaphoid pseudoarthrosis has an important place in traumatology. The purpose of this paper is to compare bone healing after surgery for carpal scaphoid pseudarthrosis.

This is a retrospective study of the 50 cases of carpal scaphoid pseudarthrosis treated from 1992 to 2010. Data on sex, age, involved side, and smoking were collected. Pseudarthrosis was typified according to the Herbert and Fisher classification. We considered the surgical technique used, the time elapsed between the initial trauma and surgery, the presence or absence of healing, and the postoperative healing time and complications.

The sample included 49 males (98%) and one female (2%). According to Herbert and Fisher, 45 patients (90%) had D1 pseudarthrosis and 5 patients (10%) had D2 pseudarthrosis. Mean time between the fracture and surgery was 30 months (2-345). The surgical technique used was percutaneous without opening and curettage of the pseudarthrosis focus in 8 patients (16%), curettage and osteosynthesis screw in 7 patients (14%), and curettage, graft and internal fixation with Kirschner nails or screws in the remaining 34 patients (70%). Thirty-four patients (68%) achieved bone healing.

The delayed diagnosis and treatment of scaphoid pseudarthrosis is the most important prognostic factor affecting surgical success (p < 0.001).