Scaphoid fracture in the young athlete--therapeutic outcome of internal fixation using the Herbert screw.
BACKGROUND
A fractured scaphoid is a common disabling injury occurring in contact sports. This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic outcome of Herbert screw fixation for scaphoid fracture in young athletes.


METHODS
Thirty athletes with 30 scaphoid fractures were treated. According to the Herbert classification, 10 were classified as acute fracture (group I), 6 as fibrous union (group II) and 14 as pseudoarthrosis (group III). Twenty scaphoid non-unions were due to missed diagnosis or unsuccessful immobilisation.


RESULTS
Bony union was evident at an average of 9.2, 8.0 and 11.9 weeks postoperatively in groups I, II and III, respectively, and times for returning to sports were 10.7, 14.0 and 22.9 weeks. The clinical outcome assessed using the Mayo wrist score was excellent in groups I (97.5 points) and II (93.3) and good in group III (85.4).


CONCLUSIONS
Early definitive diagnosis and treatment can allow early return to sports in young athletes. The Herbert screw technique produces an excellent clinical result for scaphoid fracture.
Muramatsu
Keiichi
K
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minami-kogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8505, Japan. muramatu@po.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp
Doi
Kazuteru
K
Kuwata
Noriyuki
N
Kawakami
Fujio
F
Ihara
Koichiro
K
Kawai
Shinya
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D001863:Bone Screws; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D005596:Fractures, Closed / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D021361:Scaphoid Bone / Q000293:injuries*; D014954:Wrist Injuries / Q000601:surgery*