LAUSR

Thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis affects many post-menopausal women. If medical treatment fails, the most common options are trapeziectomy and trapezio-metacarpal arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the survival rate of trapezio-metacarpal prostheses in surgical treatment of thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis, and to highlight potential risk factors of unfavorable outcome. We performed a retrospective study involving 294 trapezio-metacarpal prostheses in 245 patients, who underwent surgery between 2001 and 2016. Clinical assessment was performed by self-questionnaire including pain, satisfaction, recovery time, QuickDASH Score, and opposition according to Kapandji score. Thumb X-rays were used to evaluate implant loosening sign, periprosthetic remodeling, and arthrosis of over and underlying joints. Implants survival rate at the final follow-up of 17.3 years was 90.8 % (95 % CI [85.8–96.1]). Median pain was 1 on 10 on VAS scale (0–8). Median QuickDASH Score was 20 (0–82), median opposition according to Kapandji was 9 on 10 (3–10). Median return to work time was 2 months (1–12). We identified 7.8 % of major complications, including 3.4 % of dislocations, 3.1 % of implants loosening, and 1 % of fractures. All dislocations involved surgical revision. Only few publications show results with more than 100 trapezio-metacarpal prostheses. Our results are consistent with existing studies. Trapeziectomy represents currently the gold standard in surgical treatment of thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis. Long-term superiority has not been proven in recent meta-analysis. Two recent studies found superiority of arthroplasty at short term concerning pain, strength, mobility, satisfaction, and recovery time, with similar complication rates. Trapezio-metacarpal arthroplasty is a long-term reliable solution for surgical treatment of thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis, with a limited complication rate.