Suggest Treatment For Psoriatic Arthritis
She is 73 yrs old and is suffering from psoriatic arthritis. Plus her earlobe needs to be shortened/stitched so that she can wear earrings. Who do I consult and what is the procedure ?
Psoriatic Arthritis and Ear Lobe repair
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic
I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your concern and I have understood it.
Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis, usually seronegative for rheumatoid factor.
It may affect just one joint, several joints or it may affect multiple joints.
It can involve any joint, those most commonly involved are wrist joint and small joints of the hands and feet.
The most common pattern of Psoriatic arthritis is symmetrical polyarthritis.
Treatment for psoriatic arthritis:
Treatment varies depending on the level of discomfort. Those with mild arthritis may require treatment only when their joints are painful and may stop therapy when they feel better e.g with NSAIDs like Ibuprofen, Naproxen etc
However, sometimes NSAIDs alone are insufficient. In such cases disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs/immunosuppressives may be prescribed. These include sulfasalazine, methotrexate, cyclosporine and Azathioprine etc.
Biologic response modifiers such as adalimumab, etanercept, golimumab and infliximab are also antipsoriatic agents and can help psoriatic arthritis as well as the skin psoriasis.
Therefore options are plentiful, they ought to be used according to the need. I would suggest that you see a dermatologist for a proper assessment and the most appropriate therapy for her psoriasis/arthritis.
Regarding Ear Lobe Repair, I would suggest that you get her an appointment with either an ENT Specialist Or a Dermatologist. Ear Lobe repair is a day care procedure and would take not more than an hour to be done
First the margins of the slit of the ear lobe are freshened up with a scalpel blade and then the edges are stitched together separately, both on the front and reverse side with a 5-0 Prolene suture.
Stitch removal is done on the 8 th day.
regards