During your journey with arthritis you may hear about different types of surgery that are sometimes offered to patients. These surgeries should be thought of as a last resort, many people with arthritis will never require surgery and are able to manage living with arthritis through exercise, nutrition, medication, lifestyle and other complementary treatments such as physiotherapy. Surgery is generally only recommended for severe cases of arthritis when all other non-surgical treatments haven't been effective.
Remember that the decision is yours whether you choose to proceed with surgery or not.
Common surgeries
- Arthrodesis, also known as joint fusion
- Arthroscopy, also known as keyhole surgery
- Osteotomy
- Resection
- Synovectomy
- Total joint arthroplasty, also called total joint replacement
- Joint revision surgery
Things to ask about
- The benefits of having surgery
- The risks of the surgery
- Whether there are any other options
- To what degree your pain, function, mobility and quality of life will be improved
- The cost
- The recovery process and time