Suspensionplasty

Suspensionplasty: Basal Joint Arthritis Suspensionplasty is the use of abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendon as sling. First, the bone at the base of thumb (trapezium) is removed. Then the APL is taken from its attachments to the carpometacarpel (CMC) and threaded to the two tunnels. One tunnel goes through the bone of the index figure. While the other goes through the thumb. The APL is stitched to another tendon to hold in its place. The overall effect is to stop the deforming force of the APL on the CMC joint. The grip and key pinch strength is measured before and after surgery. The range of motions and pain levels were also recorded; x-rays were also taken both before and after the process of Suspensionplasty. The conclusion that was drawn after all the above recordings was that most of the patients were pain free after the surgery. Pinching and gripping activities became easier for most of them.