Lesions of the scapholunate ligament associated with minimally displaced or non-displaced fractures of the scaphoid waist. Which incidence?

INTRODUCTION: It was commonly considered that a non-displaced or minimally displaced isolated scaphoid fracture was mechanically incompatible with a lesion of the scapholunate ligament (SL). However, some authors who described such an association have recently challenged this statement. The aim of this prospective study was to determine, after screw fixation and using arthroscopy, the existence and incidence of lesions of the SL as associated with acute non-displaced or minimally displaced isolated fractures of the scaphoid.

METHODS: Between December 2009 and January 2011, the study included all patients presenting with an acute non-displaced or minimally displaced isolated fracture of the scaphoid waist, eligible for percutaneous screw fixation and accepting the procedure after informed consent. The surgical protocol included a first retrograde arthroscopically controlled percutaneous screwing of the scaphoid, followed by a second arthroscopy seeking only lesions of the SL. Geissler's classification was used for the classification of SL lesions.

RESULTS: Eighteen patients were included in the study. The mean was 29 years. In 17 cases, the scaphoid fracture was due to a low-energy fall, and in 1 case, to a road accident. No SL lesion was evidenced by the diagnostic arthroscopy.

CONCLUSION: Unlike some published reports, we did not observe any SL lesion associated with non-displaced or minimally displaced isolated fractures of the scaphoid. Nevertheless, despite such results and based on the literature, we recommend arthroscopy with percutaneous scaphoid screw fixation, with the triple advantage of providing reduction control, adequate screw fixation verification, and diagnosis of potential associated ligament lesions.