Rheumatoid arthritis – hands

Rheumatoid arthritis. Fortunately, this is a pattern which we tend not to see much of nowadays, as the medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has been revolutionized by the new biologic agents. Here we see extensive fusion (ankylosis) at both wrists – all of the carpal bones have fused. The patient has had previous joint replacements at the right 2nd, 3rd and 4th MCP joints, while on the left you can see erosions at the MCP joints, with ulnar subluxation.