Surgery may help you manage pain and other symptoms, if you have certain types of arthritis or your arthritis, is severe.
To help you decide if surgery is right for you, here’s a breakdown of five of the most common arthritis surgeries, including what they involve, how they’re performed, who the best candidates are, and what recovery may look like.
Arthroscopy surgery
With arthroscopy, a few small cuts are made by a surgeon and a tube with a camera on the end is inserted, along with specialized surgical instruments used to repair the joint. The camera projects your joint’s image onto a screen so doctors can see it better.
According to the University of Washington Medicine, the surgery is used to take a tissue biopsy sample, repair torn cartilage, smooth a rough joint, remove torn tissue around a joint, reconstruct ligaments, and even perform joint fluid repair. Since it’s a less invasive type of surgery, arthroscopy recovery times are typically faster than other surgeries.
The Mayo Clinic mentions that arthroscopy may be performed on those with infectious arthritis, while New York-Presbyterian notes that it can be somewhat beneficial for relieving rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
The best candidates for arthroscopy are active individuals aged 40 and under, according to the Arthritis Foundation. However, the foundation does not recommend arthroscopy surgery for people with osteoarthritis (OA), since there’s a lack of evidence it relieves that condition’s pain symptoms.
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Total joint replacement (TJR) surgery
During total joint replacement (TJR), the entire joint and surrounding damaged tissues are removed and replaced with an implant, according to Southcoast Health.
People with more severe forms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis who aren’t responding to other treatments are the best candidates for this surgery. It’s mainly performed on the hips, knees and shoulders, although it’s sometimes done on fingers, elbows, ankles and other joints.
According to Arthritis Australia, this surgery is also an option for people living with advanced psoriatic arthritis.
Although it is usually only performed on older adults, the Arthritis Foundation says that TJR is an option for