Medical conditions and injuries to your hand can impair your ability to perform even the simplest of everyday tasks. Reconstructive surgery can improve or restore lost function from injuries such as fractures, lacerations, damaged nerves, tendons, and amputations. Our plastic surgeons can also treat the following conditions:
If you frequently have numbness or tingling in your hands, especially your thumb and first three fingers, you may have a condition called carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition can eventually cause sharp, piercing pain that extends up your arm.
These symptoms happen when the median nerve in your wrist become compressed. This nerve, along with the tendons that help move your hand, pass through the carpal tunnel – a space inside your wrist that is bounded by bones and a tough band of connective tissue called a ligament. It’s a narrow space, and if the tendons become swollen they can press on the nerve. The result is carpal tunnel syndrome.
For some people with mild symptoms, treatments like wearing a brace or splint or having steroid injections can help. But long-term pressure can permanently damage the median nerve in your wrist. If you have had symptoms for six months or more, your best option may be carpal tunnel release surgery.
Our surgeons will first evaluate your condition to make sure surgery is your best choice and will also explain each step of the surgery and recovery. Your surgery will follow this process:
Carpal tunnel release is outpatient surgery performed at Community Medical Center. While you will probably have some pain from the surgery, you’re also likely to notice relief from your carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. For many people, nighttime pain, tingling and numbness are the first to resolve. Other symptoms should start improving soon after. Depending on your job, you may return to work between a few days and several months after surgery.
You may have this condition if your finger hurts or catches during movement, or if you can’t straighten it. This happens because the tendon is irritated or thickened, making it difficult to slide inside its sheath. To relieve these symptoms, the surgeon will make a small incision in your palm and cut the tendon sheath. After the sheath heals, the tendon has more room to move.
With this condition, small, painless nodules form under the skin of your palm. Over time, they can make it difficult to straighten nearby fingers. The surgeon may recommend an injection to relieve Dupuytren’s contracture symptoms. Surgery to release the contracture can also restore normal movement.
These common cysts form near joints or tendons of the hand or wrist. It can be treated with a surgery that removes the ganglion along with part of the nearby joint capsule or tendon sheath.
Abnormal lumps or bumps, sometimes called “tumors,” can occur on your hand. They are rarely cancerous. However, masses such as warts and moles, can be unsightly and irritating. Some masses should be biopsied to make sure they are benign. Masses can be removed from your hand with a simple, outpatient surgery done with local anesthesia.