Objective To evaluate the long-term function of the traumaticallydamaged joint after its repair with transplantation of a fresh or a frozen allogenic joint. Methods From March 1977 to September 1993, 13 patients (9 males, 4females; age, 17-55 years) with traumatically-damaged joints underwent transplantation of the fresh or the frozen allogenic joints. Five patients had 5 damagedmetacarpophalangeal joints, 6 patients had 9 damaged interphalangeal joints, and 2 patients had 2 damaged elbow joints. So, the traumatic damage involved 13 patients and 16 joints. All the metacarpophalangeal joints and the interphalangeal joints were injured by machines and the 2 elbow joints were injured by road accidents. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: Group A (n=7) andGroup B (n=6). The 7patients with 8 joints in Group A underwent transplantation of fresh allogenic joints; the 6 patients with 8 joints in Group B underwent transplantation of frozen allogenic joints. The allogenic joint transplants were performed in the period from immediately after the injuries to 6 months after the injuries. The motion ranges of the transplanted joints and the X-ray films were examined after operation, and the immunological examination was performed at 8 weeksafter operation. Results The time for synostosis was 5-8 months in Group A, but4-6 months in Group B. In Group A, at 2 years after operation the metacarpophalangeal flexion was 30-40° and the interphalangeal flexion was 20-30°; however,at 6 or 7 years after operation the interphalangeal flexion was only 10-20°. The patients undergoing the transplantation with fresh elbow joints had the elbowflexion of 60° and the elbow extension of 0°, and had the forearm pronation of 30°and the forearm supination of 30°. But in Group B, at 2 years after operation the metacarpophalangeal flexion was 6070° and the interphalangeal flexionwas 40-50°; at 6 or 7 years after operation the interphalangeal flexion was still 40-50°. However, the patients undergoing the transplantation with frozen elbow joints had the elbow flexion of 90° and the elbow extension of 0°, and hadthe forearm pronation of 45° and a forearm supination of 45°. The joint motion ranges, the Xray findings, and the immunological results in the patients undergoing the transplantation of the frozen allogenic joints were significantly better than those in the patients undergoing the transplantation of fresh allogenicjoints. There was a significant difference in the immunological examination between Group A and Group B (IL2, 21.64±3.99；CD4/CD8,3.88±0.82 vs.IL-2,16.63±3.11；CD4/CD8, 2.53±0.23, P＜0.01). Conclusion Repairing the traumatically-damaged joints with frozen allogenic joints is a better method of regaining the contour, movement, and complex motion of the hands.
