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Long-term results of wrist arthrodeses fixed with self-reinforced polylevolactic acid implants in patients with
N H Voutilainen1, H V Pätiälä, T J Juutilainen
1Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland. nina.voutilainen@hus.fi
Objective:
Implants made of self-reinforcing polylevolactic acid (SR-PLLA) have been successfully used in arthrodeses of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. No lone-term evaluation on bioabsorbable fixation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis has been published so far.
Methods:
In this study 21 wrist fusions were performed on 18 patients with rheumatoid arthritis by using SR-PLLA rods as fixation devices. The follow-up time was 3-8 years (mean 5.4 years).
Results:
The results showed one non-union but no infections or problems associated with the bioabsorbable implants used.
Conclusion:
According to this study, fixation of wrist arthrodesis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can be performed by using SR-PLLA implants with favourable results. The benefit of this method is the avoidance of the removal operation of fixation devices.