Our treatment plan for your arthritis will start with conservative options. We may need to recommend surgery, though, if nonsurgical care isn’t effective or your pain is causing severe disability. If you maintain a healthy weight and exercise on a regular basis—but still find joint pain to be debilitating—it might be time for you to consider arthritis surgery.
The surgical procedure(s) we recommend will depend on the location and type of arthritis, and the impact it has on your joints. In some cases, you may benefit from more than one procedure.
Types of arthritis surgery we perform include:
- Arthrodesis (fusion). Arthrodesis is a procedure where we fuse the bones of the joint completely together, thereby making one continuous bone out of two or more bones. The goal of this particular procedure is to reduce pain by eliminating any possible motion in the arthritic joint.
- Arthroscopic debridement. This surgery is often helpful in early stages of arthritis. Debridement (cleansing) is a procedure we use to remove loose cartilage, inflamed synovial tissue, and bone spurs from around the arthritic joint.
- Total ankle replacement (arthroplasty). In a total ankle replacement, we remove the damaged bone and cartilage, and then position new plastic or metal joint surfaces to restore the function of the affected joint.
There are pros and cons of each respective type of surgical procedure we can use to treat arthritis, and we will carefully review these with you beforehand. It’s important to us that you are educated on surgery and able to make an informed decision. If you ever have any questions regarding your planned procedure, simply let us know and we will be glad to answer them for you.
For additional information on arthritis surgery, or any of the foot and ankle services we provide at Family Foot & Ankle Center, simply give us a call at (513) 728-4800 or take a moment right now and request your appointment with any of our six conveniently-located Cincinnati area offices today.