Abstract
Five cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) of hips were presented on this paper, which were treated surgically and gave special problems. Surgical indications and treatments of RA in the hip joints are discussed here in details. Surgery should be determined considering the atrophy of bone and muscle, bleeding tendancy and general conditions because RA is the systemic disease.
Generally speaking femoral head prosthesis has a tendancy to think into the ilium or pelvis and is rarely indicated.
Cup arthroplasty is indicated in the relatively young patients when the disease is unilateral and other joints are preserved. Resection-Angulation osteotomy is indicated in the inactive elderly patients when the function of other joints are preserved well. But rare cases fit to these indications mentioned above.
Total hip replacement has the wider indications than other procedures. However the history of this operation is too short and many problems have not been solved yet. Therefore we have to be very cautious especially as to its indications and treatments.
