Suture Suspensionplasty Using Abductor Pollicis Longus and Flexor Carpi Radialis for Advanced Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Arthritis

Abstract

Purpose: Current operative treatment for advanced thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis mainly constitutes complete trapeziectomy with or without additional stabilizing procedures. However, it is unclear whether the additional procedures influence overall clinical outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of our posttrapeziectomy suture suspensionplasty technique, performed using the abductor pollicis longus and flexor carpi radialis tendons, in patients with advanced thumb CMC arthritis.

Materials and methods: We evaluated 36 thumbs of 35 patients with advanced thumb CMC arthritis treated with combined operative excision of trapezium followed by a suture suspensionplasty using flexor carpi radialis and abductor pollicis longus tendons. We used a minimal volar approach to create a sling construct with a nonabsorbable suture material, which could support the thumb metacarpal base without pin fixation or tendon transfer. For radiographic evaluation, we used the ratio of the radial metacarpal subluxation to metacarpal articular width, estimated from the bilateral stress-view radiographic images of the thumb, and calculated the trapezial space ratio by dividing the trapezial space height by the proximal phalangeal length. The clinical outcomes were evaluated using the visual analog scale and disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand scores, along with evaluation of the improvement in both postoperative range of motion and strength recovery.

Results: The mean duration of follow-up was 26 months (range, 18-60 months). The average visual analog scale and disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand scores decreased from 5.9 to 0.4 and from 51.6 to 27.0, respectively. The range of motion during palmar abduction and opposition of the metacarpophalangeal joint improved with an increase in mean value from 49.1 degrees to 54.1 degrees, and from 7.8 to 9.3 Kapandji score, respectively. The grip and key pinch strengths showed no significant changes from mean preoperative values of 13.3 kg and 3.8 kg to 13.2 kg and 3.2 kg, respectively, as measured at the 18-month follow-up.

Conclusions: Our suture suspensionplasty technique has several advantages including minimal invasive approach, short operative time, cost-effectiveness, and early mobilization. We suggest that it can be used as an effective, alternative stabilization method after a complete trapeziectomy.