CASE COMMUNICATION
IMAJ | volume 25
Journal 10, October 2023
pages: 700-701
Psoriatic Arthritis of the Hand: When Surgeons Meet Rheumatologists
1 Department of Hand Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
2 Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
3 Faculty of Medicine, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
Summary
Psoriatic arthritis can present with significant hand and wrist deformity and dysfunction [1]. The development of newer biological therapies has resulted in higher rates of remission [2]. However, surgical intervention is still indicated in pain, disability, and severe deformation cases. The management of patients with rheumatic diseases has a controversial history, characterized by rheumatologists and hand surgeons debating the efficacy of surgical interventions. Some surgeons attribute the controversial results to “too little and too late” referral of patients from rheumatologists [3]. While the availability of new and more effective medication has changed the indications and postponed surgical intervention, it is important to remember that surgery is often more effective when used preventively in the early stages than when forced to salvage. In the following case, we present a patient with psoriatic arthritis who presented with advanced-stage debilitating hand deformity and was treated surgically.