Total knee arthroplasty in rheumatoid arthritis

Total knee replacement in rheumatoid arthritis has evolved into a very reliable procedure for the relief of pain and restoration of function. Minimum of two year follow-ups using the most recent components and surgical techniques show that pain relief is good in 97 per cent of patients and range of motion averages 111 degrees. Although the rheumatoid patient presents many potential hazards and problems because of systemic disease most of these can be minimized or overcome by meticulous attention to pre-operative evaluation, planning, and operative technique.