ISOLATED COMPLETE VOLAR DISLOCATION OF THE CAPITATE: A CASE REPORT

Total dislocation of the capitate is an extremely rare event. We report on one such unusual case. The complete expulsion of the capitate from its physiological position is difficult to diagnose. Standard parameters of the antero-posterior and lateral radiological do not head to a definite diagnosis.

In our patient, the only real diagnostic tool was the clinical assessment and the Gilula arches alteration to the standard antero-posterior projection. In the period following trauma, the patient reported a very high level of pain in the wrist. Since this could not be correlated to the lesions that had been diagnosed, we hypothesized the presence of any carpal bones damage. A definite diagnosis was obtained at CT scan, which also revealed the absence of any fractures.