Bipolar press-fit radial head arthroplasties: surgical technique and expected outcomes

Several types of radial head prostheses have been designed and introduced in clinical practice over the last decades. Currently, radial head prostheses can be categorized according to the material (silicone, polyethylene, pyrocarbon, and metal), modularity (monoblock or modular), polarity (monopolar or bipolar), and method of stem fixation (cemented, loose-fit, expandable stem, and press-fit). The topic of this chapter is the bipolar press-fit radial head arthroplasties (RHA). Two types of this implant are described in the literature: (1) the press-fit RHS (Tornier, Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, France) and (2) the bipolar SBI (radial head implant, Small Bone Innovation, Morrisville, Pennsylvania, USA). The aims of this chapter are (1) to describe the surgical technique and (2) to report the clinical results yielded by these two types of implant. A bipolar press-fit radial head, i.e., Antea (Adler Ortho, Milano, Italy), has recently been marketed, though no studies have yet been published on this new device.