Dorsal percutaneous screw fixation of delayed or nonunion of scaphoid fractures: decision making with MRI.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate scaphoid delayed fractures or nonunions treated by percutaneous fixation with MRI correlations.

METHODS

We evaluated 33 consecutive scaphoid delayed unions or nonunions treated by dorsal percutaneous fixation at a mean 16 months (range, seven to 48 months) after the operation. There were 31 male and two female patients with an average age of 29 years (range, 25-33 years).

RESULTS

Pre-operative MRI revealed no signs of avascular necrosis. At the latest follow-up, all patients had good or excellent results.

CONCLUSION

We suggest dorsal percutaneous screw fixation for scaphoid delayed fractures or nonunions after eliminating the presence of AVN by pre-operative MRI examination.