Abstract
Carpal coalitions are anatomy variants, consisting of the union of two or more carpal
bones. The incidence is low, usually being an incidental diagnosis. Describing the
radiographic development through carpal ossification is our objective concerning a
clinical case. Our patient is a 15-year-old male, who suffers repeated scaphoid fractures.
He was diagnosed with bilateral non-osseous carpal coalitions in the follow-up. The
patient had previous radiographs of his left wrist through infancy until skeletal
maturation was observed. Thus, it was possible to compare them to reference images
of normal skeletal maturation, showing the strongest differences after carpal ossification.
Carpal coalitions are scarce, and the diagnosis is only possible after skeletal maturation,
showing a higher risk of mechanical stress and present fractures than the general
population.
Keywords
carpal coalition - synchondrosis - synostosis - osteogenesis - bone development
