The use of Swanson silastic interposition arthroplasty in revision thumb-base surgery for failed trapeziectomy; a case series of 10 patients

Abstract

Patients who report ongoing adverse symptoms following trapeziectomy may require revision surgery. We present a series of 10 patients who underwent revision surgery using a Silastic interpositional finger joint arthroplasty. Mean age was 60 (range 48-70) years, with a mean interval between primary and revision surgery of 34 (range 12-84) months. Review was performed at an average of 53 (range 21-136) months. Nine of the 10 patients reported improvement in pain, and all patients reported improvement in pinch grip, activities of daily living, and satisfaction at having undergone revision surgery. There were no complications. We found good medium-term results and high satisfaction rates. We advocate this technique as an effective treatment option in these difficult cases, provided other treatable causes of poor outcome are excluded.