Autologous Fat Transfer for Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Osteoarthritis: Long Term Results

Initial results after autologous fat transfer for treatment of thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis have been promising. But long-term results have not yet been available.

In a prospective study, 42 patients with thumb carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis were observed for a mean time of 5 years after autologous fat transfer. Manual liposuction and centrifugation were performed. Pain rating according to numerous analogue pain scale; objective force of pinch grip and fist closure; and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire score (DASH score) before and after treatment were analysed.

The average pain preoperatively was 8.0 ± 1.6 and 4.0 ± 3.0 after 5 years overall. Force and pinch force of the treated hand improved from 71% and 60% preoperative in comparison to the non-treated hand to 100% and 96%, respectively, 5 years after fat transplantation. There were similar improvements for the parameters strength and DASH score. All improvements were statistically significant. No serious adverse events were observed.

Autologous fat transplantation is a real alternative to trapeziectomy even in the long term in basal joint osteoarthritis of the thumb. The low invasiveness of the procedure and early recovery of patients compared with classical procedures such as trapeziectomy, and the superior long-term results compared with classical injection therapy, make this approach feasible as a first-line therapy in basal joint osteoarthritis of the thumb as it offers stable results and warrants a high patient satisfaction rate.