Thumb Carpometacarpal Hemi-trapeziectomy: Creating a Balanced Arthroplasty

Thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis is commonly encountered in Hand Surgery practice and can be quite disabling. Surgery is the best option for patients who have failed conservative management for thumb CMC arthritis. There are numerous surgical options to address thumb CMC arthritis with no clear advantage of one technique over the other. In this paper, we present our patient selection criteria and technique of hemi-trapeziectomy with interpositional arthroplasty for patients with thumb CMC arthritis. Hemi-trapeziectomy is ideal for patients with Eaton stage II/III thumb CMC arthritis in whom the STT joint is spared.