TITLE:
Carpal Coalitions; Failures of Differentiation of the Carpus: A Description of Cases
AUTHORS:
Anne J. Spaans, Annechien Beumer
KEYWORDS:
Carpal; Coalition; Synostosis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Radiology,
Vol.3 No.1,
March
12,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Synostosis of carpal bones originates from lack of cavitation at the site of the future joint space with subsequent chondrification and ossification during the 4th to 8th weeks of intrauterine life. It is mostly seen as a chance finding discovered on radiographs. These coalitions are often asymptomatic, but can give complaints after trauma. We report six patients with different congenital carpal coalitions. These cases include synostoses of: scaphoid and trapezium, scaphoid and trapezium with a large scapholunate distance, lunate and triquetrum, capitate and trapezoid, capitate and hamate, triquetrum and pisiform. We also give a review of the literature and treatment proposal.