Radio-lunate arthrodesis in rheumatoid arthritis: outcome and techniques.

Background And Purpose: The wrist is one of the most affected joints in rheumatoid arthritis. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess clinical, functional and radiographic results of radio-lunate arthrodesis. Two different operation and fixation techniques are compared and detailed outcome after this intervention is presented.

Methods: Twenty-seven patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis were operated on, either by stabilisation of the arthrodesis with Shapiro staples (n = 14) or by Herbert screw (n = 13) and followed for a mean of 5.4 years.

Results: Radio-lunate arthrodesis resulted in high overall and subjective satisfaction concerning function, grip and return to work. Grip strength was 35 kPa for the dominant and 26 kPa for the non-dominant hand. No revision, pseudoarthrosis or hardware failure was observed; only two conservatively treated wound healing problems were reported. The procedure resulted in a mean flexion of 26° and a mean extension of 24°; a clear improvement was also seen in activities of daily life. No difference between both groups was observed for pain, complication rate or functional outcome.

Interpretation: Due to high patient satisfaction and functional outcome, radio-lunate wrist arthrodesis can be recommended independent of fixation method.