Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. May 6, 2023; 11(13): 3038-3044
Published online May 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i13.3038
Multiple flexor tendon ruptures due to osteochondroma of the hamate: A case report
Tae Young Kwon, Young-Keun Lee
Tae Young Kwon, Department of Orthopedics, Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju-si 54907, South Korea
Young-Keun Lee, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University – Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju 54896, South Korea
Author contributions: Kwon TY and Lee YK were the patient’s orthopedic surgeons; Kwon TY and Lee YK contributed to manuscript writing, editing, data collection, data analysis, conceptualization and supervision; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
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: Young-Keun Lee, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Doctor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University – Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, No. 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Republic of Korea, Jeonju 54896, South Korea. trueyklee@naver.com
Received: November 16, 2022
Peer-review started: November 16, 2022
First decision: February 14, 2023
Revised: February 19, 2023
Accepted: April 4, 2023
Article in press: April 4, 2023
Published online: May 6, 2023
Processing time: 159 Days and 0.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Closed rupture of the little and ring finger flexor tendons caused by the hamate is mostly associated with a fracture or nonunion of the hamate hook. Only one case of a closed rupture of the finger flexor tendon caused by osteochondroma in the hamate has been reported. Here, we present a case study to highlight the possibility of hamate osteochondroma as a rare cause of finger closed flexor tendon rupture based on our clinical experience and literature review.

CASE SUMMARY

A 48-year-old man who had been a rice-field farmer for 7–8 h a day for the past 30 years visited our clinic due to the loss of right little finger and ring finger flexion involving both the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints. The patient was diagnosed with a complete rupture of the ring and little finger flexors because of the hamate and was pathologically diagnosed with an osteochondroma. Exploratory surgery was performed, and a complete rupture of the ring and little finger flexors due to an osteophyte-like lesion of the hamate was observed, which was pathologically diagnosed as an osteochondroma.

CONCLUSION

One should consider that osteochondroma in the hamate may be the cause of closed tendon ruptures.

Keywords: Flexor tendon; Finger; Closed tendon rupture; Hamate; Osteochondroma; Case report

Core Tip: It is not easy to diagnose osteochondroma in the hamate. Therefore, osteochondroma in the hamate should be considered as a cause when dealing with patients with closed ruptures of the finger flexor tendon. Based on our experience, we also suggest that the surgical treatment of these patients requires careful pre-operative planning and preparation.