Surgical Options For Osteoarthritis
What Are My Options With Surgery?
Most people will never need any type of surgery for their Osteoarthritis. The decision to treat surgically will depend on a number of factors including: a patient’s age, the patients overall health, and the progression of the disease. Surgery is considered as a last option for patients:
· When severe pain and symptoms become unmanageable with oral medications
· When joints have become severely damaged
· When pain interferes with the ability to perform daily activities
In those cases where surgery is warranted, it is often successful and used to relieve pain and restore function in Osteoarthritic joints of the hips, knees, wrists and hands.
The goals of the surgical treatment options can include:
- Smoothing the surfaces of the bones in severely damaged joints
- Restoring cartilage/removing loose tissues
- Repositioning bones
- Fusing a joint into a fixed position
- Replacing an entire joint
Depending on the severity of the disease and the individual needs, there are a number of surgical treatment options for Osteoarthritis including:
Joint Replacement-Arthroplasty
This is a procedure where a surgeon removes the ends of the bones in an affected joint and replaces the removed sections with an artificial joint made of metal, ceramic, or plastic components called prosthesis.
Joint replacement surgery is most commonly performed on the kneee and hip joints when pain is severe and movement in the joint is limited significantly.
The prostheses can be attached to the joint in a number of ways including the use of special cement, relying on the growth of new bone to hold the prostheses in place, or inserting a part of the prostheses into the end of the existing bone. Joint replacement is a common procedure and an artificial joint may last for 15-20 years.
This is a procedure where a small, flexible, fiber-optic instrument (arthroscope) is used to make two or three small incisions into a joint to relieve pain or restore function by removing: loose pieces of bone, cartilage, spurs, cysts, or damaged tissue. There has been some research that suggests that this type of procedure offers little benefit in certain joints like the knee.
In this procedure pins, plates, screws, or rods are inserted into the bones of the severely damaged joints and are fused together in a permanent fixed position. Although the joint will no longer be flexible after the surgery, the joint will be stronger, more stable, and likely much less painful.
The advantages of this type of surgery is that it can greatly improve symptoms, decrease pain, improve quality of life, and can help to prevent further damage to the joints. However, this surgery may not eliminate all symptoms. Some pain and stiffness may persist after the procedure.
Joint Realignment-Osteotomy
This is a procedure where a small section of bone either above, or below, the joint is added or removed to realign the joint. This realignment is used to reduce weight and pressure on the damaged part of the joint such as the knee joint. An Osteotomy can greatly relieve symptoms including pain and is being used as an alternative to joint replacement in older patients.
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