title: Total elbow replacement.
abstract: Thirty-one patients who underwent thirty-six total elbow replacements between 1974 and 1977 were followed for a minimum of two years with an average of 3.7 years. A scoring system was used to quantitate results. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis and functional disability primarily related to pain benefited most from the operation. Patients with post-traumatic arthritis and disability secondary to loss of motion benefited least. The over-all complication rate was 53 per cent and the reoperation rate was 22 percent. However, only one-fourth of the complications adversely affected the final outcome. Total elbow replacement can give good results in carefully selected patients.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000601:surgery*; D001171:Arthritis, Juvenile / Q000601:surgery; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000601:surgery; D001178:Arthroplasty / Q000379:methods; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012008:Recurrence