: Are Lupus patients typically good candidates for total ankle replacements? I was very recently diagnosed with Lupus. But ive always had arthritis problems because i was born with congenital bone fusions so throughout my life

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When you browse through Pubmed, there are two articles which provide some insights for your question:

Shah U, Mandl L, Mertelsmann-Voss C, et al. Systemic lupus erythematosus is not a risk factor for poor outcomes after total hip and total knee arthroplasty. Lupus. 2015;24(9):900-908. doi:10.1177/0961203314566635. 1

They have done a case-control study comparing individuals with lupus receiving a total knee arthroplasty to individuals without the conditions also receiving this intervention.

Here are their conclusion:

While SLE patients have more comorbidities than OA, and SLE THA have
worse pre-operative pain and function compared with OA controls, SLE
was not an independent risk factor for poor short term pain or
function after either hip or knee arthroplasty.

This concerned knee arthroplasty, but obviously it shows some tendency regarding those procedures and the outcomes for patients with SLE

Mak A. Orthopedic surgery and its complication in systemic lupus erythematosus. World Journal of Orthopedics. 2014;5(1):38-44. doi:10.5312/wjo.v5.i1.38. 2

They provide a good overview of the complications associated with orthopedic surgery in general for patients with SLE.

Here is an extract:

complications as a result of surgical procedures are indeed not
uncommon. SLE per se and its various associated pharmacological
treatments may pose lupus patients to certain surgical risks if they
are not properly attended to and managed prior to, during and after
surgery. Concerted effort of management and effective communication
among orthopedic specialists and rheumatologists play an integral part
in enhancing favorable outcome and reduction in postoperative
complications for patients with SLE through thorough pre-operative
evaluation, careful peri-operative monitoring and treatment, as well
as judicious postoperative care.

Both articles are freely available so you can read them to have additional informations.

Hope this helps.