Treatment of early basal joint arthritis using a combined arthroscopic debridement and metacarpal osteotomy.

Osteoarthritis of the thumb basal joint is a common and disabling condition, and early stages of which are often seen in middle-aged women. Arthroscopic assessment of the first carpometacarpal joint allows easy identification and classification of joint pathology with minimal morbidity. This allows the condition to be managed either arthroscopically or converted to an open procedure as indicated.