Ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition in comparison with hematoma distraction arthroplasty for the treatment of arthritis in the trapeziometacarpal joint.

Introduction: Arthritis in trapeziometacarpal joint is one of the most common types of osteoarthritis which do not respond to conservative therapies in progressed cases and require surgical processes. The current study compares the two successful techniques, ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (LRTI) versus hematoma distraction arthroplasty (HDA).

Methods: The current randomized clinical trial has been conducted on 56 patients with trapeziometacarpal joint osteoarthritis whom were randomly divided into two groups undergone surgical procedures of LTRI (n=28) and HDA (n=28). The patients were evaluated regarding hand function, pain intensity and pinching power using The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH), VAS and pulp pinching test, respectively, as well as radiological findings, including (proximal migration, lateral migration, and first web space) at baseline, within 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively.

Results: Pain intensity, pinching power, function based on DASH and radiological findings, including proximal and lateral migration and first web space significantly improved in a-year follow-up assessments (P-value <0.001). The comparison of the techniques showed superior results of HDA regarding pinching power (P-value =0.004) and DASH (P-value =0.03).

Conclusion: Based on this study, both LTRI and HDA were accompanied by significant improvement in function, pinching power and decrease in pain among the patients with the first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis; however, the outcomes of HDA were generally superior.