Has anyone had thumb surgery? Would be interested in your experience.
Thumb surgery: Has anyone had thumb... - Osteoarthritis Ac...
Thumb surgery
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SueJohnson
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Hi Sue -- what kind of surgery? I had surgery for a trigger thumb. Is was super easy, I even asked the doc to do only local anesthesia so he could explain to me what he was doing (I was curious). I know someone who had their base joint repaired with tendon, she was very happy with the result.
Mine will be the base joint of my thumb because of arthritis
do you know which procedure you're getting?
Normally I would get ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (LRTI), but a doctor at Duke University has perfected a surgery called fiberwire ligament reconstruction which is similar but cuts the recovery time in half so I will be having that.
I'd be interested in the results. I have base joint arthritis, I'm not ready for surgery yet.
I'll let you know. It is not scheduled yet.
I would be interested to hear how you get on I’m waiting for an appointment regarding my thumb (base joint)
I'll post back here. It's not scheduled yet.
I had my surgery August 24th. I had regional anesthesia and they put a sedating medicine in my IV so I was asleep during the surgery. My arm started hurting 12 hours later. I took oxycodone every 4 hours which reduced the pain to a 5-6 on a scale of 10. After the morning of day 4 I stopped the oxycodone and the pain stayed at 5-6 gradually getting better each day. I had no pain at night but it returned when I got up. I was also prescribed medicine for nausea and constipation which the oxycodone can cause. The bandage was removed and I got a removable orthosis on Day 7 although I was supposed to get it on day 3 to 5, but couldn't because of scheduling problems.
I had my surgery August 24th. I had regional anesthesia and they put a sedating medicine in my IV so I was asleep during the surgery. My arm started hurting 12 hours later. I took oxycodone every 4 hours which reduced the pain to a 5-6 on a scale of 10. After the morning of day 4 I stopped the oxycodone and the pain stayed at 5-6 gradually getting better each day. I had no pain at night but it returned when I got up. I was also prescribed medicine for nausea and constipation which the oxycodone can cause. The bandage was removed and I got a removable orthosis on Day 7 although I was supposed to get it on day 3 to 5, but couldn't because of scheduling problems.
in reply to SueJohnson
Sue, any updates on your procedure? I assume you had the fiberwire ligament reconstruction?
I'm scheduled for a Trapeziectomy in December but I don't know if the doc is familiar with the fiberwire procedure. I'd be willing to wait a bit longer if I can use this option. Apparently, the jury is still out on how well the procedure works for males due to a slight difference in hand anatomy.
Larry
SueJohnson in reply to
Dr Ruch at Duke invented the fiberwire technology and I doubt if any other doctors have been trained to do it although they should be as it halves the time for recovery. My recovery is proceeding. I am at 11 weeks now and my pain has been down to a level 2 the last couple of weeks and was down to a 3 after 4 weeks. I have been getting hand therapy every week and doing exercises. Some can be painful as you have to push your thumb to recover your range of motion. But they are bearable. No pain at all from my original problem. If there is anyway you could travel to Duke, I would recommend it. I had to go 3 times driving from the DC area, once for a consultation, a 2nd one for the surgery and the last for an evaluation of the results.
Thank you
Good question. Following
Hi I had Trapeziectomy done on both my thumb basal joints. Local anethestic in arm , felt a bit of pulling but that was all. After the anaesthetic wore off arm ached for about 24 hours, recovery took a few months ,about a year to full strength they say. But for me so worth it .
Did you have it done on both thumbs at the same time?
How long did it take for the anesthesia to wear off after the surgery? Did you take anything for the ache?
Been offered joint removal or fusion but concerned about either. So interested and following
Suggest you have the ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (LRTI). I wouldn't be concerned about it.
Hi Sue, I am needing the same surgery, but have yet to contact Duke. What were your final results, and if you had to do it over again, would you choose this Dr? Thank you for any guidance!
Absolutely. Dr Ruch was great. I had to drive down from the DC area and it was worth it. My thumb is fine.
Thank you so much for the reply! I need both hands done, and really am so tired of the pain.
It would be really hard to do both at once - I hope you aren't planning on doing that.
Oh no, one at a time for me.
