Ligament reconstruction for the painful thumb carpometacarpal joint: a long-term assessment.

An extra-articular ligament reconstruction to stabilize the thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) (basal) joint by routing a portion of the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) through the base of the thumb metacarpal has been performed on more than 100 patients since 1967. This study reviews the first 50 consecutive reconstructions with an average follow-up of 7 years. Intractable pain was the primary indication for surgery. Each joint was examined both pre and postoperatively and rated as a stage I through stage IV according to the radiographic appearance. Of the patients with zero or minimal articular changes (stages I and II), 95% achieved good or excellent results because of having little or no postoperative pain. Of the patients with moderate to advanced degenerative changes (stages III and IV), 74% achieved good or excellent results. All stage I cases and 82% of stage II cases were free of recognizable degeneration on follow-up radiographs up to 13 years postoperatively. These findings suggest that ligament reconstruction that is now recommended only for stage I or stage II disease will restore stability, reduce pain, and possibly even retard joint degeneration in a large proportion of patients with painful instability of the thumb CMC joint.