Anyone had hand surgery?

I used a wax hand bath following a dog walking injury. If nothing else it was very soothing and lessened the pain. I put ibugel on before immersing my hand.

OH in his newly acquired retirement zeal put it up on top of a kitchen cupboard to tidy up. Grrr!

Ooh yuck annodomino, the stench...oops ...perfume might make you pass out!

Maybe I could melt down a couple of unpleasantly scented candles, midgey! I remember getting some squashy stuff from the physios but preferred the resilient squashy balls.

maddyone I am so sorry it is not what you expected but I agree, once the new cast settles hopefully the pain will be less.

Anybody seeking hand surgery- please look for a hand surgeon not a jack of all trades.

Annodomino, the hot wax treatment is so comforting isn’t it? You can buy the wax on line (paraffin wax) and warm it gently in the microwave. Great for arthritis and rheumatism.
Dupuytrens contracture used to be called Coachman’s finger.

Thanks for those tips anno. My physio got me to buy some squashy stuff to squeeze to strengthen my hand when I had my first hand done, and I’ve still got that. I’m a bit worried about the cast coming off because I still get such a lot of pain, but at least it’s the beginning of the end of this saga. Hopefully I’ll be back to normal in a few months.

A tip,*maddy*, that my physios didn't know about, is to acquire a squashy foam tennis ball and practise gently squeezing it. I got mine in JL, but 'you know who' has them on line. The OTs at my hospital gave me a stretchy glove to wear. The nicest thing about the physio (or the only nice thing) was to dip my hand into a container of hot (but not too hot) melted wax. Not sure what good it did but it felt comforting.

One more week to go ladies, and then the cast comes off, can’t wait. I’ve bought a splint thing to support the hand some of the time when the cast comes off as I’m still having quite a lot of pain. Thanks for all your responses.

Yes, I had physio for three months after the first op, but it wasn’t intensive, it was every couple of weeks and I had to do the exercises in between appointments. I went back to normal activities more or less straight away, but it was my left hand and my non dominant hand. This time it’s my dominant hand and I’m having more post op pain, but I will have physio again, so we’ll see how it goes. Anyway, looking on the bright side, I haven’t got any more hands to do

Bad luck, maddy. I hope things will get better. The said pins were removed with the bandages which is how I came to know how long they were! I had a month of intensive physio before I was allowed to drive.

That’s the operation I’ve just had anno, and I had my left hand done six years ago. I haven’t got any pins in though, nor did I have pins in the left hand. My left hand surgery went so well, not much after pain, but this hand is a different story.

I'd had months of severe pain in my right thumb joint, I woke up every night in severe pain and eventually surgery was the only option.
My surgeon told me that he had devised a new operation which involved removing the trapezium, cleaning it up and putting it back. There were two long pins keeping it all together and the hand was wrapped up in a mass of crepe bandage for six weeks. When the bandage came off, I was astonished at the size of the pins, but also at the delicacy of the scar, which even then was almost imperceptible. I have not had a minute's pain in that joint for 14 years. Unfortunately the surgeon retired soon after my surgery, so it's just as well that I haven't needed his treatment in my left hand.

My little finger sticks upwards at the last joint, and I can’t bend that bit down. I did break my wrist about two years ago and it healed stiff (still a bit painful). It’s probably connected isn’t it? Do you think it’s worth a doctor looking at it - seems a bit trivial to bother them with and anyway it’s a trial trying to get an appointment!

A quick update, yesterday I had so much pain that I spent the day in my pyjamas and lurked on Gransnet. Today I went back to the hospital and I’m now sporting a new cast. It’s still painful but hopefully will settle down.

Thanks for the advice everyone, Charley I do try to keep the hand elevated as far as possible. It’s very swollen, and after having a somewhat better day pain wise yesterday, I’m in a lot of pain and discomfort today, I’ve made an appointment at the cast clinic for tomorrow morning. They’ve said they’ll probably put a new cast on, and hopefully it will be a bit less tight. They also said this operation is an extremely painful one, and they had warned me beforehand about the pain I might have. I think I must have been extremely lucky last time as after the first few days I didn’t have pain. Everything was very straight forward.

maddyone if your hand is swollen try to elevate it if possible. If you have a sling wear that with the hand at least at shoulder height and if sitting down try to put the hand on cushions to elevate it.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I’m continuing to monitor my hand and if it’s still not improving by next week, I will go back to the hospital. I have mixed feelings about this because the hand is swollen and I’m suffering from pins and needles intermittently, but not all the time. The cast does feel too tight at times aswell but not all the time. It’s difficult isn’t it, I don’t want to bother them at the hospital for nothing.
My surgeon is a specialist hand and wrist surgeon, though probably not as experienced as the surgeon who did my left hand. He was an armed forces surgeon, and had served in Afghanistan putting back together the hands of injured servicemen.

You need an orthopaedic consultant who only operates on hands. You do not want a Jack of all trades. They are very difficult to find.

Dupuytren's Contracture affects men more than woman and the right more than the left hand. I am female and it affects my left hand and I am left handed. I try keeping my fingers supple and straightening the two affected.

I had carpal tunnel surgery two years ago.Not entirely successful. I have been left with residual numbness in two fingers, but the pain has gone and for that alone I can cope with anything else.

As I remember, there was very little pain and I took painkillers for 24 hours at the most. The site remained painful for a month or so if pressed or banged. I was doing some cooking and the end of wooden spoon slipped and rammed into the operation site. The shock of that pain meant I had to be scraped of the ceiling, but little ongoing pain.

But do do the massage, the numbness improved a lot because I was assiduous in doing the massage for about 6 months.

I had surgery for Dupuytrens Contracture of my right hand 11 years ago, it has been a great success, I was even able to continue working as a Chef afterwards.
I have it also in my left hand now and am debating wether to have the op again as I am part-time retired now. Just cooking for private events.
You need a surgeon who specialises in Orthopaedic Microsurgery.

Maddyone it definitely took 6 weeks before I was able to stop using the support and I did take painkillers regularly, as well as exercise. As you know, the pain is very debilitating and you probably haven’t been using your hand properly for a long time. Chin up, I think you will get there eventually and it will all come right. Incidentally, my surgeon told me that 70% of the strength in our hands comes from the thumbs, so it’s definitely worth all the bother. Good luck.

Thanks for the info Suzie.

Chewbacca,

I think you’re describing what my dear Dad had, but I didn’t know the name. He had an operation and it improved, but if I remember rightly, I think it came back.

Same as Chews DH. The some (or all) of the fingers on one or both hands turn inwards towards the palm and become eventually claw like. Bill Nighy has it very badly and Jonathan Agnew. Mine was only one hand but meant I couldn't use it for some tasks. I think I was very lucky to find out about the treatment and for it to work so well. Your situation sounds really awful maddy I’m sorry I’d no useful information to give you. Best wishes with your recovery. Btw it’s nothing to do with arthritis - it’s a sort of shortening of the cords that then pull the fingers in. It’s genetic and people say it’s linked to Viking ancestry?

Gill,

That’s encouraging, but as I’m only three weeks in with this hand, do you think I should persevere a bit longer? Everything looked good when the dressing came off last week, and the stitches had healed well. The surgeon usually recommends a brace, but as I was still having pain he said a cast would be better.