When Should I Consider Surgery for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

There are many surgical procedures to treat rheumatoid arthritis. In this video, Louis Pack, DPM, author and founding fellow of the American College of Rheumatology, discusses RA surgical procedures and gives advice on choosing a surgeon.

Transcript

00:00

People with rheumatoid arthritis often contemplate having surgery done to help them. There are a great many types of surgical procedures

00:08

that can be done for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Everything from removing painful cysts to fusing small joints--

00:15

for example, the joints in the toes-- to putting new artificial joints in larger joints.

00:21

So there's a great deal that can be done for people who have these kinds of problems. But aligning the joints of the foot, the ankle, the knee,

00:31

the hip, the back, the neck so that you decrease the friction is very important, both before surgery and after surgery.

00:40

I also recommend that you have the surgery done by somebody who specializes in treating people with arthritis, particularly, the joint you're

00:47

having problems with. So in general, if you have problems with a knee you can see all kinds of doctors, but if you have severe rheumatoid arthritis--

00:56

of the foot, for example, you may want to see a podiatrist that specializes in arthritis of the foot or an orthopedic surgeon that

01:04

specializes in arthritis of the foot and is well experienced in your particular area.