Long-term follow-up study: semi-constrained elbow prosthesis

Two-hundred and sixty nine cases of elbow replacements employing a semi-constrained hinge prosthesis (Pritchard Mark I and Mark II types) were reviewed by the author. Information was gathered using a standard information sheet sent out to orthopedic surgeons known to have used the prosthesis. Responses from 100 orthopedic surgeons reviewed by the author reflected a significant lowering of long-term loosening as a complication of this type of surgery. This study suggests that careful patient selection, improved techniques for inserting methymethacrylate cement into the medullary canals of long bones, and the improved design of the semiconstrained hinge prosthesis are all important factors relating to long-term loosening.