Subchondral curettage cement packing in the distal radius causes wrist joint degeneration: long-term evaluation of distal radius giant-cell bone tumour.

Introduction: This study investigated wrist joint degeneration after curettage and PMMA treatment for giant cell bone tumours (GCBT) at the distal radius.

Methods: We performed a retrospective single-centre study, which included 23 patients with GCBT at distal radius treated with curettage and PMMA between 2001 and 2021. The progression of wrist joint degeneration was assessed through radiographic evidence, comparing the postoperative grade with both the preoperative grade and the grade of the contralateral wrist at the latest follow-up. We also analyzed the influence of age, sex, tumour distance of the joint, subchondral bone involvement, tumour size and body mass index.

Results: The study included 23 patients with a mean age of 32.1 ± 13.3 years. The average duration of follow-up was 96.4 ± 69 months (range, 24-265 months). The mean tumour-cartilage distance was 1.79 ± 2.4 mm (range, 0-10 mm) and the mean BMI was 23.5 ± 3.8 kg/m². Degeneration of the wrist joint was evident in 16 patients (69.6%) at the final assessment, however, 10 patients (43.4%) were identified as having a progression of joint degeneration secondary to the surgical procedure among the 16 patients with wrist joint degeneration at the final control view. Age, gender, dominance, tumour-cartilage distance, subchondral bone involvement, tumour size, patient height, weight, and BMI were not associated with secondary joint degeneration.

Conclusions: Ten of 23 patients developed wrist joint degeneration over an average follow-up period of 8 years, and no particular factors associated with the degeneration were identified.