The Functional Outcomes and Complications of Different Reconstruction Methods for Giant Cell Tumor of the Distal Radius: Comparison of Osteoarticular Allograft and Three-Dimensional-Printed Prosthesis

Background: En bloc excision has been increasingly used for the management of giant cell tumors(GCTs) in the distal radius. An osteoarticular allograft has been used extensively for decades, and custom-made prosthesis reconstruction has been more recently applied. We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of the two procedures. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 30 patients with Campanacci III or recurrent GCTs of the distal radius for follow-up at a mean of 33.2 months. In total, 15 underwent osteoarticular allograft reconstruction (allograft group) and 15 received cementless three-dimensional(3D)-printed prosthesis reconstruction (prosthesis group) between March 18, 2013, and May 20, 2018. All patients underwent by clinical and radiological examinations, including pre- and postoperative active range of motion (ROM) of the wrist, VAS score, grip strength, degenerative change of wrist, Mayo wrist score and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score. Complications were evaluated using the Henderson classification. Results: Both groups showed significantly increased ROM, grip strength, Mayo score and MSTS score postoperatively. Furthermore, the extension, flexion, MSTS, and Mayo score were significantly higher in the prosthesis group. There was no significant difference in grip strength and VAS between the groups. In allograft group, one patient had a late infection one had resorption of allograft without allograft bone fracture. and four had wrist subluxation. All patients had degenerative changes (mean 9 months). In the prosthesis group, three patients developed wrist subluxation, three had separation of the distal radioulnar joint, and none of the patients developed wrist degeneration. Conclusions: Our study compared the objective functional outcomes and complications of two reconstructive methods for Campanacci III or recurrent GCT in the distal radius. 3D-printed prosthesis replacement can partially preserve wrist function better than allograft reconstruction in the short-term. During the design of 3D-printed prosthesis, preoperative morphological assessment of the affected proximal row carpal is helpful to control postoperative dislocation. After allograft reconstruction, wrist degeneration, which has been demonstrated in all patients, severely influence their wrist function. Therefore, compared to allograft reconstruction, 3D-printed prosthesis reconstruction has irreplaceable advantages at early-stage application, especially in wrist function, however, further studied with a larger number of cases and longer follow-up.

The Functional Outcomes and Complications of Different Reconstruction Methods for Giant Cell Tumor of the Distal Radius: Comparison of Osteoarticular Allograft and Three-Dimensional-Printed Prosthesis

Background: En bloc excision is increasingly used for the management of giant cell tumor in the distal radius. Osteoarticular allograft is extensively used for decades, also custom-made prosthesis reconstruction is recently applied widely. We aimed to firstly compare the clinical outcomes of the two procedures. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed thirty-two patients with Campanacci III or recurrent GCT of the distal radius for follow-up at a mean of 33.2 months. Sixteen underwent osteoarticular allograft reconstruction (allograft group) and sixteen received cementless three-dimensional(3D)-printed prosthesis reconstruction (prosthesis group) between March 18, 2013, and May 20, 2018. All patients were assessed by clinical and radiological examinations, including pre- and postoperative active range of motion (ROM) of the wrist, VAS score, grip strength, degenerative change of wrist, Mayo wrist score and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score. Complications were evaluated on the Henderson classification. Results: Both groups showed significantly increased ROM, grip strength, Mayo score and MSTS score postoperatively. MSTS and Mayo score were significantly higher in prosthesis group. There was no significant difference in grip strength and VAS between two groups. In allograft group, one had a local recurrence; one had a late infection; four had wrist subluxation. All patients had degenerative changes (mean 9 months, 95% CI: 8.03-9.97). One had resorption of allograft without allograft bone fracture. In the prosthesis group, one had a local recurrence. Three developed wrist subluxation. Three had separation of the distal radioulnar joint. None of the patients developed degeneration of wrist. Conclusions: Our study firstly compared the objective functional outcomes and complications of two reconstructive methods for the Campanacci III or recurrent GCT in the distal radius. 3D-printed prosthesis replacement can preserve better wrist function than allograft reconstruction at short-term. During 3D-printed prosthesis design, preoperative morphological assessment of affected proximal row carpal is helpful to control the postoperative dislocation. After allograft reconstruction, degeneration of wrist, which has been proved in all patients, severely influence their wrist function. Therefore, compared with allograft reconstruction, 3D-printed prosthesis reconstruction shows its irreplaceable advantages at early-stage application, especially in wrist function, but its larger cases research at longer follow-up are needed.