Escisión de la apófisis unciforme del hueso ganchoso

background: the hook of the hamate fracture is rare. the diagnosis is generally late and nonunion is frequent. methods: between 1988 and 2005, 14 patients with nonunion of the hook of the hamate were treated surgically with hook excision. we analyzed the following: time to diagnosis, images, and clinical presentation. results were evaluated with the mayo modified wrist score, while the student's t-test was used for the statistical analysis. results: the time to diagnosis was 9 months in average (range 3-204). eight patients had very good results (57.2%), 4 good (28.6%), 1 fair (7.1%) and 1 poor result (7.1%). from 11 athletes, 10 returned to the same level at the final follow up. no major complications were found. conclusions: the excision of the hook of the hamate is an excellent option in case of non-union, allowing a quick return to daily activities.