• Moritz Dustmann, Ralf Bajinski, Alexander Tripp, Joachim Gülke, and Nikolaus Wachter.
• Department for Traumatology, Orthopaedic Surgery and Sportsmedicine, Klinikum am Steinenberg Reutlingen, Steinenbergstrasse 31, 72764, Reutlingen, Germany. dustmann_m@klin-rt.de.
• Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2017 Jun 1; 137 (6): 867-873.

IntroductionIn treatment of scaphoid non-union bone healing requires beside vital tissue and stability, enduring compression and a good interface between the graft and scaphoid fragments. While fixation techniques show a good primary stability, they reduce sintering and thus compression of fragments in the long term. Therefore, a modified technique optimising the cancellous interface between graft and scaphoid but still providing enough stability without fixating implants should be evaluated.Materials And MethodsA corticocancellous bone graft from iliac crest was shaped ellipsoid and was implanted in a modified Matti-Russe press fit-technique. Thereby the cancellous side contacts the scaphoid fragments. In a retrospective design, we reviewed 52 patients with documented non-unions of the scaphoid. The average length of follow-up was 8.6 months. Range-of-motion, pain and grip-strength was measured and compared with contralateral wrist. Radiological assessment included beside X-rays CT scans. Results were further measured by DASH score and Mayo wrist score.ResultsThe average postoperative pain was 0.9 based on NRS-Score. The mean range-of-motion was satisfactory with a dorsal-palmar arch of 115.3°, radial-ulnar: 48.2° and pro-supination: 171.3°. Mayo Wrist Score showed with 91.2 out of 100 an excellent result. The analysis of DASH score revealed a mild subjective constriction (9.2/100). Regarding roentgenographic findings complete union was confirmed in 44 of the 52 patients (84.6%). Patients with non-union were significantly older than patients with union (p < 0.05). Grip-strength on average was equal to that of the uninjured hand although in failure cases a slightly reduced grip-strength was seen.ConclusionsThe modified technique of Matti-Russe provided a good contact of the cancellous part of the bone graft to the scaphoid in grafting a scaphoid pseudarthrosis with a high healing rate. However, since age, previous failed surgery and a proximal fracture line are the most important handicaps for bone healing in this study, for patients at risk gadolinium-enhanced MRI scan could be helpful to estimate vascularisation preoperatively. In cases of poor vitality, vascularised bone grafting should be considered.

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