TY - JOUR T1 - Recent Orthopedic Surgeries Aiming to Improve Quality of Life for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 245 LP - 246 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.150238 VL - 43 IS - 1 AU - SHIGEKI MOMOHARA AU - KOICHIRO YANO AU - YU SAKUMA AU - KATSUNORI IKARI Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/43/1/245.abstract N2 - To the Editor:It was with great interest that we read the article by Zhong, et al1. They examined the rate and variation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)–related hand and wrist surgery. They concluded that surgical reconstruction of rheumatoid hand deformities varies widely across the United States, driven by both regional availability of subspecialty care in rheumatology and individual patient factors.Several studies from different countries have indicated that the rates of orthopedic surgery for patients with RA have decreased over recent years. Recent dramatic improvements in medical treatment might explain the reduction in numbers of orthopedic joint surgeries, which also suggests that there is a worldwide trend toward improved longterm outcomes.Total joint replacement (TJR) is the most commonly performed RA-related surgical procedure. The rate of TJR performed in patients with RA has either decreased2,3 or remained stable4. A recent report on administrative discharge databases from 2 large states in the United States has revealed … Address correspondence to Dr. S. Momohara, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Institute of Rheumatology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, 10–22 Kawada, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 162-0054, Japan. E-mail: smomohara{at}twmu.ac.jp ER -