title: Perioperative considerations in the arthritic patient.
abstract: It should become clear that the surgeon's responsibility to the patient does not end with knowledge of the surgical procedure. The arthritis patient poses a vexing problem in a variety of ways. The surgeon not only has to understand the particulars of surgery, but also should have a working knowledge of the disease process so that the chance for complications is lessened. Because discussion of each articular disorder is beyond the scope of this article, readers should continually try to review these areas, especially in light of the everchanging attitudes in rheumatology. The arthritis patient is prone to many potential problems, some avoidable and others inevitable. It is obviously the avoidable ones that we most concern ourselves with. Because the patient with arthritis very commonly undergoes multiple reconstructive surgeries, the risks of complications are naturally greatly increased. To any patient with chronic disease, any misfortunes from surgery are all the more discouraging. The team approach will go a long way in providing the most appropriate care. This has been aptly stated as: "The combination of a radical rheumatologist, a conservative surgeon, a cooperative physiatrist and physical therapist, and an informed motivated patient should lead to the best combination of results obtainable in the present state of the art, and reduce the incidence of complications.
mesh_terms: D001168:Arthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications