The use of a grommet bone liner for flexible hinge implant arthroplasty of the great toe.

Press-fit titanium grommets were developed to shield flexible hinged silicone implants used for arthroplasty of the radiocarpal, metacarpophalangeal, and metatarsophalangeal joints. Since 1985, 179 titanium circumferential grommets were used in 90 first metatarsophalangeal joints with excellent, pain-free, functional results and favorable bone response around the implant stems and at the bone-grommet interface. There were no complications due to particulate reactivity, implant fracture, or grommet fracture. The use of circumferential titanium grommets appears to be a safe and effective method to improve the long-term durability of flexible hinge implant arthroplasty of the first metatarsophalangeal joint.