THE LITERATURE on fractures of the carpal bones of the wrist is voluminous. Confusion exists particularly in regard to treatment of nonunion of the carpal scaphoid. I have had experience in evaluating the results of acute injuries to the hand of soldiers in training and in combat and also in the evaluation of chronic wrist complaints of inductees. Many of the latter had been under the care of both civilian and military physicians and were treated for so-called sprain of the wrist.
A total of twenty operations has been performed on a series of 19 patients who had nonunion of the carpal scaphoid. The procedure used in 16 patients was originally described by Gordon Murray.1 A bone graft taken from the tibia was employed. Successful bony union occurred in every instance but 1 (case 3, retroulnar dislocation of the capitate). In 8 of the 16 cases supplementary drilling was