Scaphoid fractures with scapholunate ligament involvement: Instability or ligamentous laxity? Role of arthroscopy and pinning

Purpose: Percutaneous fixation of scaphoid fractures often does not allow the evaluation of potential ligamentous lesions. Arthroscopy is an useful tool in the management of scaphoid fractures to visualize potentially associated lesions. With arthroscopic assistance, we often found scapholunate ligament lesions. Our study’s aim was to evaluate the role of arthroscopy in the treatment of scaphoid fracture and in particular if the alteration found was a real lesion causing instability or just a paraphysiologic laxity. Furthermore, we evaluated whether the scapholunate joint pinning alters the outcome. Methods: We performed a retrospective study on 39 patients (33 males and 6 females), with an average age at trauma of 31.2 years (range 15–67), who underwent surgery for scaphoid fractures between 2010 and 2016 in our Center of Hand Surgery. Patients were divided into four groups based on surgical technique and finding of scapholunate lesions. Results: Differences between the four groups analyzed, both in terms of clinical scores and ROM, were not statistically significant. This corroborates the hypothesis that all four treatments are equivalent. Conclusions: Based on our experience and the literature available, we believe the systematic use of arthroscopy to be useful in patients needing surgical treatment for scaphoid fractures. This is because arthroscopy allows the control of the fracture reduction, screw protrusion evaluation and ligamentous lesions assessment. In cases of partial scapholunate ligament alteration in which no sign of acute lesion is present (hemorrhage and clear rupture), pinning is not necessary since it might just be a paraphysiologic laxity. Level of evidence: IV.