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A Patient's G a Patient's Guide to Scaphoid Fracture of the Wrist A Patient’s Guide to Scaphoid Fracture of the Wrist The Central Orthopedic Group 651 Old Country Road Plainview, NY 11803 Phone: 5166818822 Fax: 5166813332 [email protected] Compliments of: The Central Orthopedic Group DISCLAIMER: The information in this booklet is compiled from a variety of sources. It may not be complete or timely. It does not cover all diseases, physical conditions,A Patient's ailments or treatments.Guide Theto information Scaphoid should FractureNOT be used in ofplace the of a visitWrist with your health care provider, nor should you disregard the advice of your health care provider because of any information you read in this booklet. The Central Orthopedic Group The Central Orthopedic Group 651 Old Country Road Plainview, NY 11803 Phone: 5166818822 Fax: 5166813332 [email protected] http://thecentralorthopedicgroup.com All materials within these pages are the sole property of Medical Multimedia Group, LLC and are used herein by permission. eOrthopod is a registered trademark of Medical Multimedia Group, LLC. 2 Compliments of: The Central Orthopedic Group A Patient's Guide to Scaphoid Fracture of the Wrist Introduction joints and many bones. These joints and Doctors commonly diagnose a sprained bones let us use our hands in many ways. The wrist after a patient falls on an outstretched wrist must be extremely mobile to give our hand. However, if pain and swelling don't hands a full range of motion. At the same time, go away, doctors become suspicious that the wrist must provide the strength for heavy the injury is actually more serious. A fall on gripping. an outstretched hand commonly breaks the scaphoid bone of the wrist. X-rays taken at The wrist is made up of eight separate small the time of the injury may not clearly show bones, called the carpal bones. The scaphoid the fracture. If the fracture is not recognized bone is a carpal bone near the base of the early, it may not heal properly. This can lead to problems later. This guide will help you understand • what causes fractures of the scaphoid bone • what nonunion of the scaphoid bone is • what you can do to treat each condition Anatomy Where is the scaphoid bone of Carpal bones the wrist? The anatomy of thumb. The carpal bones connect the two the wrist joint is bones of the forearm, the radius and the ulna, extremely complex, to the bones of the hand. The metacarpal probably the most bones are the long bones that lie underneath complex of all the the palm. The metacarpals attach to the joints in the body. phalanges, which are the bones in the fingers The joint is actually a collection of many and thumb. 3 Compliments of: The Central Orthopedic Group A Patient's Guide to Scaphoid Fracture of the Wrist One reason that the wrist is so complicated is because every small bone forms a joint with the bone next to it. This means that what we call the wrist joint is actually made up of many small joints. Ligaments connect all the small bones to each other, and to the radius, ulna, and metacarpal bones. The scaphoid bone is a small carpal bone on the thumb side (radial side) of the wrist. It is the most commonly fractured carpal bone. Fall on the outstretched hand This is probably because it actually crosses sprain, and they wait for it to heal on its own. two rows of carpal bones, forming a hinge. A In some cases, the wrist gets better. In many fall on the outstretched hand puts heavy stress cases the bone fails to heal. The scaphoid on the scaphoid bone. This stress can cause fracture then develops into what surgeons call either a small crack through the middle of the a nonunion. bone or a complete separation of the bone into two pieces. A separation is called a displaced A nonunion can occur in two ways. In a simple fracture. nonunion, the two pieces of bone fail to heal together. The second type of nonunion is much more serious. The lower half of the fractured bone loses its blood supply and actually dies. This condition is called avascular necrosis (AvascularAvascular meansmeans nono bloodblood ssupply,upply, andand necrosis means dead.) The scaphoid bone is at risk for avascular necrosis. Only one small artery enters the bone, at the end that is closest to the thumb. If the fracture tears the artery, the blood supply is lost. Avascular necrosis becomes easy to see on X-rays several months after the injury. Causes What causes a scaphoid fracture? A scaphoid fracture is almost always caused by a fall on the outstretched hand. We commonly try to break a fall by putting our hands out for protection. Landing on an outstretched hand makes hand and wrist injuries, including a fracture of the scaphoid bone, fairly common. When a scaphoid fracture is recognized on the first X-ray, treatment begins immediately. But patients often assume that the injury is just a 4 Compliments of: The Central Orthopedic Group A Patient's Guide to Scaphoid Fracture of the Wrist Symptoms If it is still not clear whether or not you have a How will I know if I have a scaphoid fracture? fracture, your doctor may order other imaging tests. You may have a bone scan done. A bone The symptoms of a fresh fracture of the scan involves injecting tracers into your blood scaphoid bone usually include pain in the stream. The tracers then show up on special wrist and tenderness in the area just below the X-rays of your wrist. The tracers build up in thumb. You may also see swelling around the areas of extra stress to bone tissue, such as a wrist. The swelling occurs because blood from fracture. the fractured bone fills the wrist joint. Thin people will see a bulging of the joint capsule. Your doctor may also order a magnetic reso- The joint capsule is the watertight sac that nance imaging (MRI) scan. An MRI scan is a encloses the joint. special imaging test that uses magnetic waves to create pictures of your body in slices. The Symptoms of a nonunion of the scaphoid bone MRI scan shows tendons as well as bones. It is are more subtle. You may have pain when painless and requires no needles or injections. you use your wrist. However, the pain may be very minimal. It is fairly common for doctors Treatment to see a nonunion of the scaphoid bone on X- Can a fracture or nonunion be healed? rays, but the patient can't remember an injury. These people probably suffered a wrist injury Nonsurgical Treatment years ago that they thought was a simple Fracture sprain. Still, the most common symptom of a nonunion is a gradual increase in pain. Over If the fracture is several years the nonunion can lead to degen- identified immedi- erative arthritis in the wrist joint. ately and is in good alignment, you will Diagnosis probably wear a What tests will my doctor run? cast forfor ninenine ttoo 1212 Your doctor will first take a medical history. weeks. The cast will You will be asked questions about your pain cover your forearm, and about any injuries to your wrist. Your wrist, and thumb. doctor will also do a physical exam. The This is necessary to prodding and moving may hurt your wrist a hold the scaphoid bit. But it is important that your doctor know bone very still while exactly where your pain is coming from. it heals. Your doctor will take X-rays at least once a month to check Doctors should assume that any patient who the progress of the healing. Once your doctor has fallen on an outstretched hand and has is sure the fracture has healed, the cast will swelling or tenderness on the thumb side of be removed. Even with this type of treatment, the wrist has a scaphoid fracture. You should there is still a risk that the fracture may not assume this until tests prove otherwise. X-rays heal well and will become a nonunion. taken immediately after the injury may not show a fracture. Still, most surgeons will put Nonunion a cast on the wrist and get another X-ray in A fracture that doesn't heal within several 10 days. This gives the edges of the fractured months is considered a nonunion. If the injury bone time to heal, and may prevent nonunion. is fairly recent, your doctor might recom- By waiting 10 days, the fracture is easier to see mend more time in the cast. He or she might on an X-ray. 5 Compliments of: The Central Orthopedic Group A Patient's Guide to Scaphoid Fracture of the Wrist also prescribe an Bone Graft Method electrical stimu- Your surgeon may use a bone graft. A bone lator. The electrical graft involves taking bone tissue from another stimulator is a device spot in your wrist and inserting it into the that sends a small fracture. A bone graft can stimulate healing electrical current to on the surface of the bones. The bone graft is your scaphoid bone. usually taken through a second small incision You wear it like a just above the wrist. (It is sometimes taken large bracelet for 10 from the pelvis, through an incision in the side to 12 hours a day. of your hip.) Electrical current has been shown to help After the bone graft is placed between the the bones heal. parts of the scaphoid bone, some surgeons also insert a metal pin or screw across the bone.
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