Fusion or new wrist

[1949liz]

Have to decide by Monday what I want doing, in a great deal of pain so need something done. Operation booked for the end of July. Would a fusion of the wrist be better? Or would a total new wrist be better? PLEASE can anybody advise me which op I should have? Many Thanks Liz

[iforget]

We are not doctors so I'm guessing not the appropriate people to give advice...however I have not experienced a new wrist but did have surgery to clean out the joint and put a plate in to essentially fuse the joint... It was incredibly painful and recovery was slow. The restricted movement was something hard to come to terms with but over time you develop different ways of doing things to work around these limitations.

IF I had been offered the chance for a replacement joint ( I was not) a lot would have depended on the expected outcome - range of movement etc - and how long the new joint would be expected to last... replacement joints usually have a shelf life (10-15 years for most of them I think) before they too need to be replaced. These are the issues I would discuss with my doc if I was in your position.

Of course a lot will also depend on your own personal circumstances - do you have support during recovery and rehab after surgery and can you cognitive handle both surgical options.

Ask the surgeons to go over all the options in detail until you feel able to make the informed choice that is best for you... we can't tell you which to choose...but I wish you lots of luck with this.

[1949liz in reply to iforget]

Thank you so much for your reply, it’s the decision which I have to make which is the most difficult 1) if I have a totally new wrist although I will have more movement it only lasts for about 10 /15 years then what. 2) if I have a fusion I will have little movement but it should last permanently. My consultant has left the decision up to me but he would rather I had a total replacement as my athritist is extremely severe. Gosh which one, that’s the question. The other problem is I have had knee replacement and they did not work, I have had 4 knee replacement on the same knee and then I needed a revision knee replacement which again is not good so I am disabled with my knees, also my TBI and now this if only I had a magic wand. Maybe if I put the two down on a piece of paper and picked one maybe that will do it.

Again thanks to you for your reply, I have had such support from this wonderful caring group. Regards Liz