Can headless screw used in fixation of the scaphoid proximal pole fracture be broken after wrist trauma? An unreported complication of scaphoid surgery

Abstract

The post-traumatic impairment of blood supply of the scaphoid bones’ proximal pole is the subject of controversy in the surgical techniques which would heal this fracture. In a surgery performed with a dorsal approach, the main goal is to make a strong fixation with a small incision and a good implant without disturbing the blood supply of the bone. To date, complications related to surgical treatment of scaphoid proximal pole fractures have been reported in detail. However, there is no other study which presents headless screw failure which placed for the scaphoid proximal pole fracture surgery. Although implant technologies have been developed nowadays, our case report highlights that the endurance of these implants has not been carried out in such proximal pole fractures of the scaphoid, yet. Herein, we present the explanation of a broken headless screw which was placed into the proximal pole fracture of scaphoid, avoiding to affect bone stock of the scaphoid surgical technique. We believe that this surgical technique would be helpful to manage similar difficult situations for orthopedic surgeons.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.