Distal radius hemiarthroplasty combined with proximal row carpectomy: case report

Severe wrist arthritis is most commonly treated by complete wrist arthrodesis, which provides predictable pain relief but the loss of motion may reduce ease of function. In selected patients, motion preserving surgical options, including limited intercarpal fusion, proximal row carpectomy (PRC), and total wrist arthroplasty (TWA) are considered. However, limited fusion and PRC are typically possible only in less severe cases in which there are some articular surfaces showing minimal degeneration that can be retained. TWA is an option for patients who have lower activity demands and specific needs or desires to maintain some wrist motion. Recent utility and decision analysis studies demonstrate that arthroplasty is associated with higher qualify adjusted life year (QALY) than arthrodesis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Despite these positive aspects of TWA, the procedure is not as widely accepted as hip, knee, or shoulder arthroplasty. Early implants had problems related to both materials and design, with breakage, loosening and joint imbalance being common complications. Newer generation implants are improved with more predictable early function, less joint imbalance, and rare breakage, but distal component loosening remains a substantial problem. Thus, patients with poor bone stock and those with high activity demands are typically not candidates for TWA, and all patients are advised to restrict activities to reduce the risk of implant loosening. A new motion preserving procedure has recently been used at our institution in selected patients with severe arthritis who do not qualify for TWA but request an alternative to complete wrist fusion. In this procedure, a distal radius implant arthroplasty is combined with a PRC. The distal radius component of a Universal 2 (UNI 2) total wrist arthroplasty system (Integra life Sciences, Plainsboro, NJ) is used. To our knowledge, there have been no previous publications on this technique. We report our first two cases which have shown a satisfactory early outcome for pain relief and functional wrist motion.