Evaluation of the pritchard total elbow arthroplasty

Total elbow arthroplasty is a valuable therapeutic modality in incapacitating degenerative joint disease from rheumatoid arthritis. This study is a retrospective analysis of 17 elbow arthroplasties in 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis using the Pritchard elbow prosthesis. The Pritchard elbow prosthesis has several distinctive design features. This is a semiconstrained prosthesis that has abduction, adduction and rotational capabilities. The prosthesis requires minimal bone resection, providing significant inherent stability. Patient selection for this study has been limited to incapacitating degenerative joint disease from rheumatoid arthritis. The grading system of Pritchard has been adopted to evaluate the results of this study. Greater than 94% of the patients obtained excellent and good results. All of the patients were satisfied with their results. Complications included transient ulnar neuropathy, humerus fracture, and Mark I humeral component fracture. There were no infections and no loosening. The complications reflected technical problems and design limitations of the Mark I prosthesis only. Careful patient selection is the key factor in total elbow arthroplasty.