Flexible Implant Resection Arthroplasty in the Hand and Extremities.

Abstract

This treatise fills a great need in bringing together in one volume the present status of flexible implants for resection arthroplasty. The majority of flexible implants have been for the deformities of rheumatoid arthritis, but their use in other conditions is also presented. The author makes clear that the basic function of the flexible implant is that of a dynamic spacer and an internal mold for "encapsulation." The author's vast experience has been due to his own drive and ability to organize the design and testing of the flexible implants and to gather information from his own patients as well as from the doctors in the 293 field clinics. The early chapters present the ten-year evaluation and design and testing of the flexible implants. The fourth chapter on "The Pathomechanics of Deformities in Hand and Wrist and Incidence of Deformities in Rheumatoid Arthritis" is well illustrated and explains the present-day