Gouty tophi is a very complicated condition, for most people, it may not affect much on their daily life except the not so nice looking lumps on the surface of on the skin. But if a gouty tophus is growing on some important musculoskeletal structures such as ligament, cartilage, tendon and bone, it may cause serious problem in the long run and can possible cripple the patient. If you suspect there is some urate crystals form in the above mentioned place that makes you hard to move certain part of your body, then you should seek help of professional surgeon to remove it before the tophus grows further.
There are 2 types of gouty tophi, semiliquid soft and solid hard. It is easier to remove a tophus when it is in semiliquid form, simply by making a small incision to leech out white milky fluid filled with fine urate crystals. But if the tophus is already solid hard, the surgery will be more complicated because the solid tophus may have encapsulated some blood vessels, nerves and muscles during its growth. Thus, a very detailed diagnosis and mapping of the gouty tophus has to be conducted before any surgery is recommended.
Here are some conditions in which a gouty tophi surgical treatment is urgently needed:
- The tophus is causing immense pain frequently.
- The tophus can possibly cause skin ulceration (burst).
- The tophus is infected and there are sinuses.
- The tophus has cause serious physical damage to the joints.
If you are suffering from any of above mentioned conditions, kindly seek professional consultation in the nearest hospital before your condition get worse.
Some tophi are painful and hard, doctors are ignorant to them and perhaps they can cause injury to joints
ReplyDelete