Affiliations: Department of Hand Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Jiangsu Province, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Jun Tan, Department of Hand Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, 20 Xisi Road, Jiangsu Province, 226001, China. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: We report the case of a 19-year old man who presented to our institution with a history of pain of one week in the ulnar side of the left wrist and continuous pressing sensation in the palm. According to patient, there was no history of acute hand trauma. The conventional roentgenograms did not show the fracture and computerized tomographic (CT) scanning demonstrated a complete fracture of the hook of the hamate. The patient was given a surgical intervention and the hamate bone was reduced through a palmar skin incision. After surgery, the operated hand was immobilized in a wrist brace and the patient was put on a rehabilitation protocol. At the last follow-up, the patient was able to return to normal living activities without any symptoms. We reviewed the latest articles of the past 18 years and compared the research studies related to the diagnosis and treatment of the hamate hook fracture. Our conclusion is that CT scan is the most effective diagnostic tool for detecting the hamate hook fracture. Three-dimensionally (3D) reconstructed images based of CT could provide more accurate and insight illustration for better evaluation in surgical planning.
Keywords: Hamate hook fracture, open reduction and internal fixation, computed tomography, 3D reconstruction
