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World J Orthop. Apr 18, 2026; 17(4): 115014
Published online Apr 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i4.115014
Published online Apr 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i4.115014
Intramedullary headless screw fixation of extraarticular metacarpal and proximal phalanx fractures, North African trauma center early experience
Waleed R Saleh, Yaser F Ragheb, Amr El-Sayed, Ahmed A Megahed, Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut 71515, Egypt
Ahmed A Khalifa, Department of Orthopedic, Qena Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Qina, Egypt
Ahmed A Khalifa, Department of Orthopedic, Aster Sanad Hospital, Riyadh 14236, Saudi Arabia
Co-first authors: Waleed R Saleh and Ahmed A Khalifa.
Author contributions: Saleh WR and Khalifa AA did the critical revision and they contributed equally to this manuscript as co-first authors; Saleh WR and Megahed AA carried out the study conception; Khalifa AA, Ragheb YF, and Megahed AA carried out the literature review and prepared the manuscript draft; Khalifa AA and El-Sayed A prepared the figures and tables; Megahed AA and El-Sayed A performed patient assessment, data collection, and analysis; all authors discussed and commented on the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the ethical committee of Assiut Faculty of Medicine (approval No. 04-2024-200749, Assiut University, Egypt).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: All the data are included within the manuscript. The original data could be shared upon a justifiable written request addressed to the corresponding authors at ahmed_adel0391@med.svu.edu.eg.
Corresponding author: Ahmed A Khalifa, MD, Assistant Professor, FRCS, Department of Orthopaedic, Qena Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, South Valley University, Kilo 6 Qena-Safaga Highway, Qena 83523, Qina, Egypt. ahmed_adel0391@med.svu.edu.eg
Received: October 11, 2025
Revised: November 24, 2025
Accepted: January 28, 2026
Published online: April 18, 2026
Processing time: 187 Days and 13.7 Hours
Revised: November 24, 2025
Accepted: January 28, 2026
Published online: April 18, 2026
Processing time: 187 Days and 13.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Although intramedullary headless screw fixation is a well-documented management option for metacarpal and phalanx fractures, its broad adoption in our area is limited. We conducted this prospective study to evaluate the efficiency and outcomes of intramedullary headless screw fixation for metacarpal and proximal phalanx fractures, using either retrograde or antegrade fixation techniques. The clinical, radiological, and complication outcomes we observed after managing 67 extraarticular fractures in 53 patients were promising and comparable to those reported in the literature, which helped change our institutional management protocol for such fractures.