hand surgery/joint replacement

[Guest guest]

Following medical referrals, my husband is considering joint

replacement in his hands. We are wondering if anyone has had this

done and any feedback you can give us. What were your experiences

with it. Did it help and in what way? How long did it take for you

to recover and was it worth it? He has RA involvement in just about

all of the joints in his body. He is taking a variety of meds

including Embrel, and MTX (maybe the meds are slowing RA down, but

certainly not controlling it). Of course, he will have to go off of

these meds for at least two weeks for the surgery to allow healing.

He also heals very, very, slowly so I know I'm concerned about this

aspect. I would also like to hear opinions about other joint

replacment surgeries. I fear that he may have to have other

surgeries in the future and wonder about these potential surguries

also. TIA for any information you can share.