SURVIVORSHIP ANALYSIS OF IMPLANT ARTHROPLASTY FOR THE FIRST METATARSOPHALANGEAL JOINT

During a 21-year period at the authors' institution, 93 primary implan ts of the first metatarsophalangeal joint were performed on 79 patient s (12 men and 67 women). Their mean age was 56 years (range, 19 to 75 years). The average duration of follow-up evaluation in 75 patients wh o were alive and without reoperation was 12 years (range, two to 17 ye ars). With the proportional hazards general linear model, young age wa s identified as a significant risk factor for poor survival: at ten ye ars, implant survival was 82% in patients 57 years of age or younger, and 90% in patients older than 57 years. The overall probability that an implant would not have been removed was 86% at ten years after arth roplasty and 82% at 15 years.