Results of Herbert-screw fixation with bone-grafting for the treatment of nonunion of the scaphoid.

Abstract

We examined twenty-one patients in whom an established nonunion of the scaphoid had been treated with Herbert-screw fixation with bone-grafting; our purpose was to determine the long-term morbidity of the procedure (at an average of forty-eight months; range, seventeen to fifty-five months). According to the modified scaphoid outcome scoring system, eighteen patients had a good or excellent result. No patient had failure of the hardware. Radial deviation was significantly decreased (an average of 17 degrees; 55 percent) compared with that of the contralateral wrist (p = 0.02). The other ranges of motion and the grip strength were also decreased, although the difference was not found to be significant with the numbers available. Three patients had a persistent nonunion, and two of them also had loosening of the hardware. Three patients had a tender hypertrophic scar. On the basis of our data, we concluded that Herbert-screw fixation with bone-grafting is effective for the treatment of nonunion of the scaphoid.