Anyone have surgery on their arthritic hands?

14 years ago

I saw a hand doctor today. I have a very crooked index finger, and the base of both thumbs spasms alot. He suggested surgery. The crooked finger would be fixed with a steel pin. I think the thumbs would have something taken out and something artificial put in. Even though I'm having pain, I just don't want to do this yet.

I asked him if I could still play the piano, because afterwards, with the pin, you can't bend your last knuckle. He said "Oh yes, you'll be able to play better without the pain." I guess I'm skeptical about this.

Plus....they seem to leave out some side-effects that might be possible, like nerve damage.

Just curious if you've had this kind of surgery, how you feel about it now.

Also.....he said there are no hand exercises that would help and didn't suggest any non-surgical treatments. I suppose I should have expected this with a hand surgeon.

Maybe a rheumatologist would have more varied options?

Thanks.

Comments (3)

pris
14 years ago
This is one operation I can see in my future. Right index finger beginning to turn left. But, I'm waiting until the pain gets to be unremittingly painful due to prior experience.

first operation: Opened up back of left hand from mid hand at wrist to just below the thumb and across right index finger large nuckle. This was to clean out the gunk produced by inflammation from RA. Waste of time but doctors would not get more drastic until damage was more extensive.

Second operation: Carpal Tunnel Synovectomy, both hands. Did the most to relieve the pain in my hands and lasted several years.

Third operation: Wrist fusion, both wrists. Still pain free
in wrists. RA beginning to become active in finger joints.

First two provided some limited relief for a period of time but was definitely not a cure. They allowed me to put off the final wrist fusion oh, probably 10 or 12 years. The carpal tunnel syn. reduced the level of pain to something I could live with for awhile.

There is some limit of motion now but nothing I can't live with. One or two personal hygiene things I had to find a different way to accomplish and I have to be aware of the fact that the joint doesn't bend so care has to be taken in situations where bending the wrist would be necessary. You will find that the stiff joint will be awkward sometimes.

You can put this off but if you are in pain this operation will relieve that and the joint won't further deteriorate. The surgeon will have a better joint to work with and this joint will not get better with time.

I hope this helps. Good luck.
catherinet
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks pris.
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Personally I'd try a concentrated period of manual physical therapy, first. I don't mean manual in the sense of it being your hand, but PT done by someone trained in intensive PT therapy using their hands. Of course all PT's do use their hands, but manual PT is different from what many people think of as PT which is mainly exercise-based. During manual PT the therapist gently massages, presses, stretches, and manipulates the injured part (and its adjacent and some not so adjacent parts). One school of manual therapy is based on the work of John Barnes (myofascial release), another uses Trigger Point therapy developed by DR. Janet Travell (among others). I am just ending a long (almost 6 months) course of manual physical therapy (myofascial release and trigger point among other disciplines) for a shoulder injury that my orthopedist wanted to operate on last winter. When I started, my right arm was completely useless, now I'm back to working in my garden. It can be time consuming to go to PT, but you'll have to do some PT after surgery anyway. I decided I had nothing to lose by trying it first. I started with conventional exercise-based PT and found it only made things worse. Luckily, I had a client who knew about manual PT and he sent me to the right place. HTH, Molly
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dancingqueengw
14 years ago
Yes, I had joint replacement on my second finger. Supposed to be a movable joint. Well no dice - it dislocated within three weeks of surgery and I could not afford to take more time off from work so I did not fix it and it just basically fused. I can type again but am very clumsey with my right hand.(I'm right handed). If I had it to do over I would not. Your results might be different. Good luck with this.

Anyone have surgery on their arthritic hands?

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pris

catherinet
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Anyone have surgery on their arthritic hands?

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pris

catherinetOriginal Author

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catherinet
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