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Surgical treatment of osteoarthritis
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
A general practitioner should remember that every patient with osteoarthritis, regardless of the stage of the disease, should be consulted by an orthopedist, who will decide on the need for and extent of surgical intervention. The recommendations of the orthopedic surgeon should be taken into account. Surgical treatment for gonarthrosis can vary from minimally invasive techniques (arthroscopic surgeries) to complete replacement of the joint with a prosthesis (endoprosthetics) - the most radical treatment method today. In addition, new methods of surgical treatment are being developed (allo- and autologous transplantation of cartilage or its cells), aimed rather at preventing the disease, especially after an injury, than at its treatment.
[ Indications for surgical treatment of osteoarthritis
Arthrosis of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the first finger:
- constant sharp pain;
- inability to wear normal shoes.
Coxarthrosis stages I and II:
- "unloading" operations aimed at shifting the load to less pathologically altered areas.
Coxarthrosis stages III and IV:
- endoprosthetics is performed;
- joint closure - arthrodesis.
Gonarthrosis:
- at stages I and II of gonarthrosis, corrective osteotomy is performed to shift the load to other less pathologically altered areas;
- In later stages, endoprosthetics are performed.