Surgical treatment of the elbow in rheumatoid arthritis.

Major disability secondary to involvement of the elbow in RA is uncommon. The indications for surgery are pain and loss of motion unresponsive to medical management. With painful synovitis and decreased function, good results are obtained with synovectomy and radial head excision. Advanced joint destruction may require TEA which produces good to excellent results in 75 to 90 per cent of cases. Arthrodesis of the elbow is not a useful procedure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and multiple joint involvement. Salvage procedures such as resection arthroplasty and distraction arthroplasty can produce fair results in most cases.