Once you’ve had anesthesia, your doctor will make a cut in your skin. And they’ll scrape away all the damaged tissue from your joint.
Sometimes, the surgeon will place a small piece of bone -- taken from somewhere else in your body or from a bone bank -- between the two ends of your joint. Or they might use a special manmade substance in place of bone.
Next, they’ll close the space within your joint with metal plates, screws, or wires. This hardware often stays in you even after your joint heals.
Then your surgeon will close your incisions with sutures or staples.