Hip Replacement Effective for 10 to 20 Years in Juvenile RA Patients

Healthline News—April 9, 2015

HealthLine News reporter Ashley Boynes-Shuck writes about study findings from Hospital for Special Surgery research that indicates total hip replacements are effective for 10 to 20 years in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), also called juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), the autoimmune form of arthritis that can strike at any age.

Experts agree that total hip replacements are a good option to relieve pain in juvenile arthritis patients, and cite the 10- to 20-year span as a positive thing for these children and young adults who have severe pain and loss of function in their hip joints.

"The surgery in this patient population, although performed by only a small number of specialized orthopedic surgeons, is life-changing for JIA patients." said Dr. Mark P. Figgie, senior author of the study and chief of the Surgical Arthritis Service at HSS, in a statement to the press. "Joint replacement can free patients from a life of unrelenting pain. It can enable those in a wheelchair to walk again. Patients can go back to school or work and get their lives back." 

Read the full story at Healthline News.