title: Silastic radial head prosthesis in rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: This paper reports our experience of using the Silastic radial head prosthesis in 18 elbow joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis. There was a varying degree of severity of involvement in 15 of the elbows, and in a further 3 cases replacement was carried out at an early stage of the disease. The 3 cases in whom early replacement was carried out had the best results at follow-up and 11 of the remaining 15 were considered to have a satisfactory overall result. The major benefit of operation has been the relief of pain, even in the late cases, whilst preserving stability of the elbow in all but 3 cases.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D011884:Radius / Q000601:surgery; D012826:Silicone Elastomers; D000074402:Synovectomy; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D012826:Silicone Elastomers