The surgical treatment of the arthritic patient.

For the past several decades, the surgical approach to the arthritic patient has changed dramatically: no longer is the severely disabled arthritic patient left to a life of incapacitation and suffering. Today, the orthopedic surgeon's armamentarium includes procedures aimed not only at temporizing or arresting the early stages of inflammatory arthritis (synovectomy) but also more definitive and curative procedures such as osteotomy, arthrodesis, or total joint replacement. The most dramatic results, however, are achievable after total joint replacement. Through these techniques, patients previously considered too disabled to be rehabilitated can now be restored to useful pain-free lifestyles. The vast amount of research presently underway in the areas of more refined prosthetic designs and fabrications offers the promise of even more exciting and dramatic forms of treatment in the near future.