<p>FYI - I don’t know about RA joint replacement, but many forms of hand surgery can be done with a nerve block to the arm, and then a light sedation for the patient, so they don’t have to use general anesthesia. </p>
<p>My mom had RA really, really bad, and her hands were enormously crippled - she had all kinds of adaptive equipment to help her with daily tasks, including having my father create some kind of contraption for her key ring because she could hardly start the car holding onto just the key. She did eventually elect for knee replacement - the recovery was long and painful, but she was glad she did it. </p>
<p>I feel for her - it’s a hard battle to fight.</p>