Extract
To The Editor:I am writing with regard to the article entitled "Load-Sharing at the
Wrist Following Radial Head Replacement with a Metal Implant. A Cadaveric
Study" (2004;86:1023-30),
by Markolf et al. The conclusion of Markolf and colleagues to "insert
the thickest radial head implant possible" is, in my view, incorrect.
Metallic radial head implants are currently in wide use and are effective for
stabilizing the elbow and forearm after fracture-dislocation. However, the
main drawbacks of metallic radial head implants include capitellar wear,
lateral gapping of the ulnohumeral joint, and synovitis (see the case report
by Van Riet et al.1 in the same issue of The Journal).
These are usually only a problem when the radial head implant is too
large.