Prosthetic replacement of elbow in postburn bony ankylosis: long-term results

Fifteen patients with 17 post-burn bony ankylosed elbows (two bilateral) fixed at a mean of 72.5 degrees +/- 27.5 degrees flexion were treated with Baksi sloppy hinge elbow arthroplasty. All patients agreed to avoid strenuous use of their replaced elbows. There were four males and 11 females whose ages varied from 21 to 48 years (average 31.6 years). One of the five patients who had severe anterior skin contracture required release. One patient died during the early follow-up period. During the follow-up studies which ranged from 11 to 23 years (average 14.1), eleven patients (68.7%) regained painless stable motion with mean recovery of arc of flexion from 20 degrees +/-10 degrees to 107.5 degrees +/-17.5 degrees with mean range of flexion 90 degrees +/-20 degrees . Good forearm motion was retained in all cases. According to the assessment score (Morrey BF, The elbow and it's disorder, 2nd edn. W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1993), nine (56.2%) patients were recorded as excellent, two (12.5%) as good, and five (31.5%) as poor who were considered as failures. The five failures required removal of the prosthesis but retained acceptable elbow function due to periprosthetic fibrosis connecting the adjacent bone ends.