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Treatment Options for Rheumatoid Arthritis
The Role of Surgery in Rheumatoid Arthritis
The initial approach for the management of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the use of medications, particularly disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), in conjunction with supportive treatments such as physical/occupational therapy and exercise. Surgery is usually a treatment of "last resort" for RA and is usually only considered for patients whose disease cannot be controlled with medical therapy and who develop disease-related complications. Surgery for RA may be necessary for patients with:
Severe joint destruction - treated with joint replacement surgery (arthroplasty)
Joint infection (septic arthritis) - treated with antibiotics and surgical debridement
Tendon rupture - treated with tendon repair surgery
Severe nerve compression - may require surgical decompression of the nerve to relieve pain and associated complications
Joint deformity - may be treated with various surgical procedures such as cutting the muscles that attach to the deformed joint so that the joint can return to a more anatomically normal position
