Surgery for arthritis

Where the small joints of the hand have been damaged by arthritis with pain and disability that is not responding to conservative treatment such as physiotherapy, medication and injections, the joints can either be fused or replaced. Small joints in the fingers are often best fused to maintain stability. With the larger joint at the base of the finger (metacarpo phalangeal) being suitable for replacement. If arthritis has damaged the joint at the base of the thumb, the worn bone (the trapezium) is removed and mobility of the thumb maintained by a ligament reconstruction of the articulation at the base of the thumb.