Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Apr 18, 2025; 16(4): 103795
Published online Apr 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i4.103795
Sixteen patients regarding the conservative treatment for hook of hamate fracture
Toshikazu Tanaka, Yuichi Yoshii
Toshikazu Tanaka, Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Kashiwa Hand Clinic, Kashiwa 2770005, Chiba, Japan
Yuichi Yoshii, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tokyo Medical University Ibaraki Medical Center, Ami 3000332, Ibaraki, Japan
Author contributions: Tanaka T contributed to conceptualization and design of the study, and manuscript writing; Yoshii Y contributed to interpretation and manuscript revision; Tanaka T and Yoshii Y contributed to data analysis; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Kikkoman General Hospital, approval No. 2015-04.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Due to privacy concerns, the data generated in this study cannot be shared with third parties.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Toshikazu Tanaka, MD, PhD, Chief Physician, Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Kashiwa Hand Clinic, 4-8-1 Kashiwa, 3rd floor of Kaneko Building, Kashiwa Higashiguchi, Kashiwa 2770005, Chiba, Japan. tanaka1041@msn.com
Received: December 3, 2024
Revised: February 23, 2025
Accepted: March 6, 2025
Published online: April 18, 2025
Processing time: 137 Days and 18.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Hook of hamate fractures occur either due to repetitive stress from gripping sports (e.g., golf, tennis, and baseball), leading to fatigue fracture, or as a result of trauma from falls or other injuries. The recommended treatment involves the excision of bone fragments to facilitate athletes’ early return to sports; excision surgery is also performed in trauma cases. However, some patients prefer nonsurgical treatment options, and conservative treatment should be considered.

AIM

To present a case series of 16 patients conservatively treated for hook of hamate fractures.

METHODS

This study included 16 (11 males and 5 females; right side, 6 cases; left side, 10) patients who desired conservative treatment and could be followed-up until bone union was achieved. The average age of the patients was 49.6 (range: 24-72) years. The average time from injury to consultation was 4.3 (range: 0.2-21.4) weeks. The treatment involved 4 weeks of casting from the forearm to the metacarpophalangeal joint, followed by 8 weeks of splint fixation of the wrist. Follow-up computed tomography scans were performed every 4 weeks.

RESULTS

Bone union was achieved in all patients. The average duration of casting was 3.7 (range: 0-5) weeks and that of splint fixation thereafter was 8.6 (range: 0-28) weeks. The patients did not exhibit joint contractures or range of motion restrictions due to prolonged immobilization.

CONCLUSION

Conservative treatment with external fixation may be an option for hook of hamate fractures.

Keywords: Conservative treatment; Hook of hamate; Fracture; Immobilization; Treatment

Core Tip: Hook of hamate fractures occur either due to repetitive stress in gripping sports or a traumatic occurrence. Some patients prefer nonsurgical treatment options and should consider conservative treatment. This study presented a case series of 16 patients conservatively treated for hook of hamate fractures. Bone union was achieved in all patients. Patients did not exhibit joint contractures or range of motion restrictions due to prolonged immobilization. Thus, conservative treatment with external fixation may be an option for hook of hamate fractures.