A Case Report on Carpal Synostosis in an Eight-Year-Old Male

Abstract

Introduction: Carpal synostosis is a medical condition in which adjacent carpal bones become fused with or without other associated limb deformities. According to literature, carpal synostosis has a relatively low incidence rate of 0.1%. Case report: We report a case of an isolated complete lunotriquetral synostosis of an eight year-old male revealed incidentally upon x-ray examination to rule out fracture of the distal forearm post trauma. Discussion: There is but little literature of an isolated carpal coalition of a pediatric at the time of this report. Also, there is no standardized classification system for carpal coalition due to insufficient imaging data by virtue of rarity of the condition and incomprehensive description of the morphology of coalitions, among others. Though patient’s lunotriquetral synostosis was not seen to impair wrist function, the radiologist report revealed negative ulnar variance, thus the need for further investigation into its possible association. Conclusion: This report adds up to existing literature to contribute a better classification system of carpal synostosis. Association between carpal synostosis and ulnar variance should be further explored.