Congenital bipartite lunate presenting as a misdiagnosed lunate fracture: a case report

A rare case of congenital bipartite lunate in a child is reported. Carpal variants are very uncommon as independent entities, with only three previous reports of this condition in the English literature. An 11-year-old Caucasian boy presented with pain in the left wrist after a fall. Radiographs in the emergency department demonstrated a lunate that was divided into palmar and dorsal parts, causing a misdiagnosis of fractured lunate. Magnetic resonance imaging was then used to differentiate between the two diagnoses. Very few cases of bipartite lunate have been reported in the literature, and unless awareness is raised about congenital anomalies such as this variant, confusion may arise.