Grading of radiographic osteolytic changes after silastic metacarpophalangeal arthroplasty and a prospective trial of osteolysis following use of Swanson and Sutter prostheses.

The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of radiographic osteolysis following insertion of 89 Swanson and 126 Sutter metacarpophalangeal implants in rheumatoid arthritis patients. The mean follow-up time in the two groups of patients was 57 (40-80) and 55 (36-79) months, respectively. This paper proposes a new method of classifying radiographic osteolysis. The remarkable number of osteolytic changes seen in the bones adjacent to MCP prostheses in this study would suggest that silastic prostheses should only be used when other surgical alternatives cannot be used and that long-term control by radiography be maintained after implantation of silicone prostheses into the MCP joint. In all grades of our classification, osteolysis was more frequent in the Sutter than in the Swanson group in this study, suggesting that use of the Sutter rather than the Swanson implant is questionable.