A preliminary report: cementless trapeziometacarpal arthroplasty

A cementless ball and socket trapeziometacarpal arthroplasty was used for the treatment of Eaton and Littler stage II and III trapeziometacarpal osteoarthritis. Forty-two joints were placed in 36 patients between 1986 and 1992. Five joints in 4 patients required revision. Thirty-four joints in 30 patients were evaluated with a mean follow-up period of 47 months (range, 15-86 months). Of the 33 monitored patients (39 joints), 79% reported good to excellent pain relief and excellent functional improvement and 12% reported poor to fair pain relief and functional improvement. Five joints required revision surgery and constituted 13% of the original arthroplasties. Thirty-three functional tests were graded before and after surgery and improvement was noted in all categories. Dramatic improvement was noted in the typical complaints for trapeziometacarpal joint disease, which are encountered in the activities of daily living. Radiolucent lines were present in 13 of 25 implants (52%), which were radiographically monitored. Radiographic loosening was present in 32%; 12 were around the trapezial component and 1 was around the metacarpal component. Radiographic loosening did not correlate with less satisfactory clinical results. Cementless trapeziometacarpal arthroplasty provides an operative alternative to arthrodesis in properly selected patients with trapeziometacarpal joint osteoarthritis. This joint is not intended to replace excisional or ligament reconstruction tendon interposition arthroplasty in lower demand patients or in those with pantrapezial arthritis. It also is not recommended in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or poor bone stock. It offers the advantages of maintaining excellent motion and stability. The cementless arthroplasty failures can be effectively salvaged by converting them to ligament reconstruction tendon interposition arthroplasty.