Sometimes, despite timely medical therapy, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) continues to cause inflammation and joint damage. When other therapies haven’t been successful, surgery may be necessary. Surgical techniques are constantly being improved, providing new alternatives to help people with RA.
Surgery is recommended for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is to control severe pain caused by inflammation or damaged joints. Surgery may also be advised to repair ruptured ligaments or tendons or to remove inflamed synovial tissue that has not responded adequately to other therapy and which threatens to cause joint damage. Finally, surgery may be the recommended treatment to retain or restore function in a specific joint.
Some surgical procedures are intended to provide temporary relief and to prevent damage over the long term. Others are corrective measures aimed at improving the function of joints that have already been damaged.
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ARTHRITIS