Abstract
Metacarpophalangeal-joint reconstruction consisting in excisional arthroplasty, replacement, or transplantation of the metacarpal head was studied in thirty-nine joints in six rhesus monkeys. The average range of flexion was the same for excisional arthroplasty as for metacarpal head replacement or transfer. The result after excisional arthroplasty was either that of a fibrous pseudarthrosis or reconstitution of the articular surface with fibrocartilage. The articular surface was microscopically normal after replacement or transplantation in only two of twenty-one joints. The functional and histological results in this experimental model indicate that at the metacarpophalangeal joint the preferable method of reconstruction is excisional arthroplasty.
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