A Literature Review Comparing the Results of Wrist Arthroplasty and Wrist Fusion in Rheumatoid Patients

The wrist is a complex anatomical structure composed of 3 joints: radiocarpal, midcarpal and distal radioulnar joints these joints provide relatively little bony stability. The stability of the wrist is provided by the soft tissues. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease of the soft tissues. It affects the synovium and therefore most of these stabilizing structures of the wrist causing pain, deformity and therefore a reduction in quality of life. This hand dysfunction can cause substantial morbidity. A quality of life study demonstrated that rheumatoid arthritis patients feel that living with a painful poorly functioning rheumatoid arthritis wrist for 12 years is equivalent to living for 30 years with a normal wrist [3].