[Short-term Outcomes of Touch® Prosthesis for Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint]

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Rhizarthrosis, a degenerative condition of the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb, affects mainly women. Surgical treatment is indicated once the non-operative treatment fails. Thumb carpometacarpal joint total arthroplasty constitutes one of the surgical treatment options. This study aims to evaluate the short-term functional and radiological outcomes of Touch® prosthesis with a minimum follow-up period, namely two years after surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study presents the outcomes of a group of 56 endoprostheses implanted in 48 patients. The dual mobility Touch® prosthesis is evaluated. The group consisted of 41 women and 7 men, with the median age of the patients being 62 years. The patients were indicated for surgery after the non-operative treatment had failed. All of them suffered from stage II - IV osteoarthritis according to the Eaton-Littler classification. The range of motion - the opposition was assessed using the Kapandji score. The function and the pain were evaluated with the DASH questionnaire preoperatively and at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years postoperatively. RESULTS After 24 months, 91.1% (51 patients) were satisfied with the surgical outcome. Altogether 8.9% of patients (5 patients) experienced postoperative exercise-induced pain, limitation of movement of the CMC joint or hand weakness. No dislocation or endoprosthetic loosening occurred in the evaluated group. Primary wound healing was reported in all patients and no superficial or deep infection was observed. The mean DASH score was 65.3 points preoperatively; at the 2-year follow-up, the mean score decreased to 10.8 points. The pain assessed in question 24 of the DASH questionnaire decreased from the mean value of 4.45 points to 1.2 points. After two years, the range of motion of all patients was X/X according to Kapandji. DISCUSSION There are plenty of surgical techniques to manage rhizarthrosis. All types of surgery have their pros and cons. Most endoprostheses used nowadays show good short-term, mid-term, and some of them even long-term outcomes in terms of survival. The Touch® prosthesis, characterized by dual mobility, is the 3rd generation thumb CMC prosthesis and in our study achives comparable short-term outcomes to those reported by international literature. The use of the dual mobility design appears to be effective in reducing the dislocation rate. CONCLUSIONS The Touch® thumb CMC prosthesis achieves very good short-term functional and radiological outcomes. We can recommend the prosthesis provided the patients are followed-up for more than two years after surgery. Key words: rhizarthrosis, osteoarthritis, endoprosthesis of the carpometacarpal joint, dual mobility, Touch®.