Patient Satisfaction After Bilateral Thumb Carpometacarpal Osteoarthritis Surgery

This study seeks to determine whether patients with bilateral thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis were sufficiently satisfied with their surgeries to choose to undergo surgery again. The null hypothesis is that patients are dissatisfied with the results of the first surgery. Out of 46 living patients meeting enrollment criteria, 41 were enrolled and evaluated using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score and the Enneking musculoskeletal score. The average DASH score was 17.37. The average Enneking musculoskeletal score was 88.21. Of 41 patients, one expressed unwillingness to undergo the next procedure, three indicated that they would reluctantly do surgery again, and four were satisfied. The remaining 33 subjects were enthused with their functional result, expressing willingness to undergo the procedure again. At an average follow-up of 44.9 months, most patients are satisfied with bilateral thumb carpometacarpal surgery for osteoarthritis. Consent for the contralateral surgery implies that the outcome of the first surgery was sufficiently acceptable to seek surgery on the contralateral thumb. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 26(4):250–256, 2017) Key words: carpometacarpal osteoarthritis, patient satisfaction, surgical outcomes, thumb steoarthritis