Acute versus delayed radial head arthroplasty for the treatment of radial head fractures.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Radial head arthroplasty (RHA) is an important tool in the acute treatment of comminuted radial head and neck fractures. RHA is also performed in a delayed manner after failed open reduction and internal fixation, for fracture malunion or nonunion, and other chronic post-traumatic elbow disorders where restoration of the lateral column of the elbow is considered necessary. The relative efficacy and longevity of acute vs. delayed RHA is unknown. We sought to compare clinical, radiographic, and patient-reported outcomes between these groups. METHODS: We identified patients ≥18 years old who underwent an RHA between 2000 and 2018 and then extracted 135 total elbows with a mean follow-up of 2.3 years that sustained isolated radial head fractures (30%), terrible triad injuries (66%), or Essex-Lopresti injuries (4%). The acute cohort (RHA <12 weeks) contained 101 elbows that underwent surgery at a mean of 0.6 weeks (range, 0 days to 7 weeks, 96% <2 weeks) from injury, whereas the delayed cohort (RHA 12 weeks to 2 years) contained 34 elbows that underwent surgery at a mean of 36 weeks (range, 14-82 weeks) from injury. Patients in the acute group had a higher percentage of terrible triad injuries (75% vs. 40%, P < .001) and Mason 3 fractures (98% vs. 45%, P < .001). RESULTS: At the final follow-up, 13 of 101 patients in the acute cohort (13%) and 7 of 34 patients in the delayed cohort (21%) required implant revision or resection. A total of 25 patients (25%) in the acute cohort and 12 patients (35%) in the delayed cohort required a reoperation. Kaplan-Meier 2-year survival estimates free of implant resection or revision (90% acute, 86% delayed) and reoperation (76% acute, 70% delayed) were similar between groups. In patients with 5-year follow-up, there was an increased rate of revision or resection in the delayed group (30% vs. 13%). Two-year survival estimates free of radiographic loosening were 80% in the acute cohort vs. 57% in the delayed cohort (P = .04). Mayo Elbow Performance Score at 2 years demonstrated mean scores of 83 and 79 in the acute and delayed groups, respectively, with 71% of the acute cohort and 64% of the delayed cohort achieving good or excellent scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that although 2-year Kaplan-Meier survival free of revision or resection estimates and reoperation rates was equivalent between the groups, the delayed group experienced worse Mayo Elbow Performance Score outcomes, a higher revision or resection rate at 5 years, and an increased rate of radiographic loosening.