Trapezial Resection Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis: Use of Abductor Pollicis Longus Tendoplasty With Interpositional Material

ABSTRACT: In this series, 45 patients had 54 trapezial resection arthroplasties for  carpometacarpal osteoarthritis, with nine of the patients having bilateral arthroplasties. A  major slip of the abductor pollicis longus tendon was used as a sling, with the underlying flexor  carpi radialis tendon as stabilizer. Palmaris longus tendon, when present (42 cases), and  absorbable gelatin sponge, when palmaris was absent (12 cases), served as interpositional  material. Review was done an average of 4.3 years (range, 1 to 11 years) after the procedure.  The average space maintenance of resection site was 4.4 mm. This decreased to an average of  3.5 mm on the key pinch stress maneuver. Subjectively, the patients judged their results to be  good to excellent in 49 instances (91%) and fair in 5 (9%).