Surgery for osteoarthritis includes:
- Arthroscopy to clean out the damaged cartilage or repair tissues, most commonly on the knee and shoulder. But recent evidence has questioned its effectiveness for osteoarthritis.
- Joint replacement surgery replaces the damaged joint with an artificial one. The two joints most often replaced are the hip and the knee.
- Joint fusion removes the damaged joint and fuses the two bones on either side, in areas where joint replacement isn't effective.