Deceptive appearance of normal variant of scaphoid bone in a teenage patient: a diagnostic challenge

Abstract

Scaphoid fractures are a common injury in late teens and mid twenties with a peak period in skeletally immature children at about 15 years of age, although considered to be rare in first decade of life, its exact incidence in early teen age remains to be a subject of debate. We report an unusual case of anatomical variation of scaphoid bone at the level of waist which could potentially cause diagnostic confusion. A 14-years-old boy presented in the fracture clinic 2 weeks after injury to his Right wrist which was managed in a scaphoid cast. X-ray examinations, both at the time of injury and later on in the fracture clinic revealed features suspicious of a fracture at the level of waist of the scaphoid bone, however the clinical examination did not correlate with imaging, in view of that radiological imaging of the unaffected side was performed for comparison, which revealed it to be an anatomical variant of scaphoid at this age. To our knowledge there are very few cases of such variation reported in literature in this age group of patients. This case highlights the importance of anatomical variants in scaphoid bone in this age group, which might pose a diagnostic challenge and the need for appropriate management plan and reassurance to avoid unnecessary anxiety.