J Korean Orthop Assoc.  2020 Dec;55(6):472-486. 10.4055/jkoa.2020.55.6.472.

Surgical Treatment for Hand and Wrist Problems in Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Lee CH
• Lee KH

• KMID: 2509620
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4055/jkoa.2020.55.6.472

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease with chronic progress, but the recent rapid developments of drug treatments have led many patients to gain control of their disease activity. As a result, surgery has been performed less commonly on the wrist or hand than in the past. On the other hand, surgical treatment is still essential to patients who do not respond to those medications. For the successful treatment of symptomatic deformed joints or functional disability, surgeons should understand that the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis proceeds differently in every patient. Furthermore, because rheumatoid arthritis often invades multiple joints in the hand and wrist, the patients often require multiple operations simultaneously. This paper summarizes the current concepts of surgical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in the hand and wrist based on more than 30 years’ experience of our senior surgeon and a literature review.

Keyword

arthritis; rheumatoid; hand; wrist