Abductor pollicis longus "hammock" ligamentoplasty for treatment of first carpometacarpal arthritis.

The association of trapeziectomy with ligamentoplasty is a simple treatment for osteoarthritis at the base of the thumb. Here we present the long-term results of a technique that creates a “hammock” under the first metacarpal bone using the Abductor Pollicis Longus tendon. This paper reports the results of treatment by this operation of 60 thumbs in 50 patients, including 13 men and 37 women of average age 60 (46–75) years. Thirty thumbs presented with severe pain and 30 with moderate pain. At final follow-up, 47 thumbs (78%) had experienced dramatic relief of pain following the procedure, 12 (20%) thumbs still had mild pain and one (2%) thumb had severe pain. No patients needed revision.