Comparison of Herbert and Acutrak screws in the treatment of scaphoid non-union and delayed union.

A retrospective analysis was performed on patients who had undergone surgery for delayed union or non-union of a scaphoid fracture. This was conducted to investigate if there was a difference in outcome between patients treated with the Acutrak screw or the Herbert screw. Twenty two cases were treated with a Herbert screw and 23 with an Acutrak screw. The patient demographics, aetiology of injury and fracture types were similar between the two groups. There was no significant difference in union rate or time to union for fractures treated with the Herbert screw or the Acutrak screw. There appears to be no difference in outcome for cases of scaphoid fracture delayed union and non-union treated with either the Herbert screw or the Acutrak screw.