What does my doctor hope to achieve by doing interpositional arthroplasty on my arthritic elbow?

The main goal of interposition surgery is to ease pain where the surfaces of the elbow joint are rubbing together. A piece of tendon or other soft tissue forms a "spacer" that separates the surfaces of the joint. Interposition arthroplasty is different than a fusion surgery. Fusion simply binds the joint together, and the elbow loses much movement. Interposition arthroplasty can help take away pain while allowing the elbow joint to retain some movement.

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