Results of the cemented SR trapeziometacarpal prosthesis in the treatment of thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze our experience in the treatment of trapeziometacarpal (TMC) osteoarthritis with a cemented surface replacement arthroplasty. METHODS: We did a retrospective study of 19 patients with 20 hands operated on with this technique, with a follow-up evaluation of 33 months. We analyzed the preoperative stage, the postoperative clinical results, measured the radiographic changes found at the end of the study, and correlated all these data with a statistical study. For statistical analysis chi(2) test and Student t-test were used. The level of significance was set at a p value of.05 or less. RESULTS: With an average follow-up period of 33 months (range, 24-45 mo) the following rates were obtained: 55% loosenings and 15% ankylosis owing to periprosthetic calcifications (70% of failures of the technique). Four patients (20%) needed a revision surgery (a salvage procedure with a dynamic ligament reconstruction arthroplasty). In the subjective functional evaluation only 8 cases of 19 patients (40%) maintained an excellent/good result at the end of the study. CONCLUSIONS: In our group of patients the cemented surface replacement TMC prosthesis was not an adequate surgical option for the treatment of TMC osteoarthritis. Further studies are necessary to clarify the role of this surgical technique in this pathology.