What is rheumatoid arthritis?
Severe and longstanding rheumatoid arthritis causes deformity of the joints or damage to tendons of the hands and wrists. Treatment is mainly nonsurgical, and is managed by a rheumatologist. In advanced cases, surgery for rheumatoid arthritis is needed to re-align tendons or to replace or fuse joints to provide a functionally better hand.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease that affects joints throughout our bodies. Hands are typically affected the same on both sides.