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wrist fusion surgery????......really bummed
two years ago i hurt my wrist snowboarding......i didnt see a doctor until a couple months had gone by........a few doctors, mri's xrays and arthrograms later i found the wrist doctor for the lakers. he came to the conclusion that i tore a small ligament in my wrist causing the instability and pain at the base of my thumb and wrist. my grip isnt too bad but it hurts to do anything, especially exerting pressure with my hand. the doctor said the only realistic option would be to fuse the wrist, however he thinks id be better off living with the pain. id like to do that but its getting worse. seems the fusion is inevitable.
im an active 32 year old who lives to surf and snowboard. will i be able to do these things anymore let alone work?...................super worried and depressed.............
im an active 32 year old who lives to surf and snowboard. will i be able to do these things anymore let alone work?...................super worried and depressed.............
I totally understand how you feel. I also have a bad situation but in my elbow keeping me from doing everything I live and breath for. Surgery the only chance of fixing it but might not help or even make it worse, What a nightmare. If I were in your situation I would not have your wrist fused and somehow live with the pain in hopes it might improve somhow some way. Once you have it fused it's permanently disabled as a moving part of your body and theres no turning back. Good luck with whatever you do
yuck! I'm so sorry you have to make this kind of decision...You might ask you doc to put you in touch with some people who have had the surgery, and see what they tell you about their daily activities. Either option is not good, but getting more info might help you choose the better one.
It would make such a HUGE! difference in making life altering decisions like this or my situation if you could actually call your doctor and ask him stuff as you think of things. I know for me its always the nurse will get back to you later and when she does what she says doesn't quite answere your question and then brings up another question and she gets back to you the next day with another half as!@# answere. Its like having the most important conversation in your life through a third party who gets things messed up and unclear and when its done the doctor probably thinks your a pain in the a!@# and you still don't really know what to do. I know it's impossible but I'll bet if you or I were able to sit down somewhere like at your house with the doc for like a whole evening and really discuss things thoroughly instead of in 10 minutes in his office we would know for sure what we wanted to do and then do it.
yeah the doc just throws words like fusion around and im supposed to know what that entails. i had no idea that i was looking at a permanent disability.............im not sure i even got 10 minutes....these surgeons are like robots
can you guys not email your doctor? i email my doctor all the time and he usually gets back to me in about 3-4 hours with information...i find that works well because there is always something i forget to ask...
i was never offered an email address....seems like i have to pay the full 180 bucks for an appointment to ask a question......
I asked my neurologist if I could e-mail her because for me that would be perfect, even better than talking to her cause of forgetting to says things in conversation and she said no she has never done that with her patients.
arghh is putting it mildly. I have this ulnar nerve that needs surgery which might not even help me get the feeling and use of my hand back but will certainly destroy me financialy and mess up my job cause of long recovery time. I have also many MS symptoms, extreemly dizzy all the time, numb body parts, unbearable fatigue, many more to mention. Nobody beleives anything is wrong with me,even friends and family cause none of my symptoms are visible which adds to the misery cause absolutly no understanding or support. . Docs haven't figured it out yet with MRI and every blood test ect,ect, . I cant stand it anymore. I really mean I CAN'T stand it anymore. If I didnt believe in God and didn't think I would go to hell for it I would blow my head off right now to escape this un ending daily torturous nightmare. I am not a depressed suicidal person but I CAN'T STAND!!!! this anymore with no end in sight for 4 months now and getting worse. I pray to God for death in my sleep tonight because that is the only way this is ever going to end. Good luck with your wrist Jeremy. Good-by
First i am just recovering from a wrist fusion, there was no option for me since shattering my wrist a year ago, yes i will lose some mobility but hopefully gain strength and have kess pain. Also i see no reason why you couldn't surf, snowboard etc, you don't need you wrist for that. I know there are some things i will have difficulty doing but i'm sure i will adapt.
hi barb888355, i was just diagnosed with stage 3-4 keinbocks recently and have to change my job situation as well as everything else in life. My lunate has shattered, but my doctoer doesn't want to fuse right know because the form of my and and flex motion is still in tacked. The pain I guess I can handle, I have built up a tolerance for it over the years, but I'm concerned about waiting for the deformaty to accure. I went for help twice in the past and was x-rayed and told it was tendenitus both times. home much does the fusion change things as far as pain and visually?
Well now....in 2003 I had a 35-40 mph impact with a truck while obeying the driving laws on my motorcycle. I had ulna/radial head fractures with shattered palm bones incl complete ligiment and some tendon tears with chronic inflamation of the ulna nerve. Ortho put me back together as best they could but the lunate ligiment surgery was futile. So fusion was my only option and that was in late 2004. I decided to put it off and go on pain managed care with daily morphine. Its helped up until now, as the more I attempt to do with my arm and hand the worse the erosion of the bone becomes. I love to ride my motorcycle. The the more I research in this sport the more I find that we humans do adjust to most debilitating injuries. So as of this week I've decided to have the fusion, and lose over half my chronic pain, which is a fair trade off for me as I want to start riding again. You will be fine if u take the time to network with others who have had similiar injuries with like interests ie skateboarding, surfing etc. Utilize the tons of pain meds available, to help u understand your limitations and proceed from there. Remember you are still alive and will always have the resources you need, so take your time and you may just find u will make the right decision that you can live with.
Good Luck and try not to focus on the negatives this life forces us to recognize, there will always be a solution u just have to be there to see it for yourself.
Good Luck and try not to focus on the negatives this life forces us to recognize, there will always be a solution u just have to be there to see it for yourself.
im 39 now, in 2001 i had a wrist injury that required the replacement of the scaphoid-lunate lig. which was harvested from my ankle, you might ask your doc to consider this option. had it not been for a motocycle crash in 06, my wrist would still be in good condition. external fixators were put in place till the graph took.total therapy/recovery was about six months post-op.and had about 88% strength/function/ROM. i lived with moderate arth. discomfort but payoff was worth it.now im looking at total wrist fusion or total wrist joint replacement,and im skepticle of both based on my age and active liestyle.but it wouldn't hurt you to discuss the option of harvesting your own tissue with your ortho surgeon before you jump into situation that could be permanent.screws loosen and plates can break cuz were not made of that stuff.and there is no promise that the pain will go away.i also had donor tissue graphted into my knee,all major ligamenst were gone and they were going to take my leg. but thry reconctructed my knee and the tissue took and saved my leg. i walk today because of tissue harvesting/transplanting.check it out.
Just had my wrist fused last week. Too soon to tell if it has helped yet as I Am still in pain from the surgery. I lived 30 years with arthritis that developed after a fall or falling off a bike or jumping into the wrong end of a swimming pool.
I finally had to say what the f#&K and just do it. I got a bad back and arthritis in my foot also. The back will be next after the wrist heals, I can't go on with the pain
I finally had to say what the f#&K and just do it. I got a bad back and arthritis in my foot also. The back will be next after the wrist heals, I can't go on with the pain
Hi, i shattered my wrist whilst ice-skating and tryinging to avoid falling on a lil boy, ended up in hospital to have my wrist maliputated then the following day being admitted into hospital where i had an operation to insert a plate and 7 pins. My operation was Feb Fri 13th 2009 and i'm still not able to use my hand properly and can still hardly move it. Just to add to everything i'm still in so much pain which is making me depressed. I think i can safely say that it has ruined my life. I see the physio every week where she tells me things are getting better, they are just taking my time. I decided to have a look on the internet to see if there were any other people in my situation where we can ***** and moan about things and just get things of ours chest.
I was pushed from behind by a bouncer and landed on my wrist. I had nine breaks in the radial head . I had K wires in first ,then after a week i was back into the operating room for a plate and nine screws.. This was back in early November 08. Then a couple of the wires broke through the skin as the swelling went down and they got infected, back into hospital again for a few more days before the took them out. I still have a lot of pain in the wrist and thumb that they say is probably arthritis forming and when it gets too much to put up with they recomend fusing the wrist.As i used to play golf and lay bricks for a living this news is not so good. hopefully the judge awards me a healthy sum to compensate for all this . Good luck with yours.. Taking panadol daily seems to help with the pain. (when i remember to take them)
Sjelby
Sjelby
I am 23 and have instability from a ligament injury from a MVA. It is my right wrist and I am right dominant. I had surgery, dorsal wrist arthroplasty, almost a year ago. 4 months post op my doctor drop the partial wrist fusion bomb shell, I did not see it coming. I still have pain everyday, decreased grip strength, my ulnar sided pain is back, and my shoulder, elbow and left arm are starting to feel the effects of increased use. I am a RN. I know I will go through with the surgery but I would love to hear how people feel after a partial wrist fusion. Any regrets? Being young do I have more to consider down the road. Quite honestly I want to just jump on my bike and ride again, or dive into a pool and swim labs again without pain or needing to put on a splint!
Also, I know we all think of questions as soon as we leave the room, try to write them down and bring in your list, and google other questions to ask. I know it has helped me in the past and uses the doc time more wisely.
Also, I know we all think of questions as soon as we leave the room, try to write them down and bring in your list, and google other questions to ask. I know it has helped me in the past and uses the doc time more wisely.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
As all other methods of consevative treatment fail your orthopaedician has adviced for partial wrist fusion.
This procedure is used to reduce wrist pain while preserving wrist movement.
A partial fusion uses bone graft from one of the bones in the forearm to join three small wrist bones together: the scaphoid, the trapezium, and the trapezoid. These three bones form a triangle on the thumb side of the wrist. The fusion holds these bones in place when pressure or load is put on the wrist.
This procedure is used to reduce wrist pain while preserving wrist movement.
A partial fusion uses bone graft from one of the bones in the forearm to join three small wrist bones together: the scaphoid, the trapezium, and the trapezoid. These three bones form a triangle on the thumb side of the wrist. The fusion holds these bones in place when pressure or load is put on the wrist.
Okay, I understand the procedure and its intended results but what implications would it have down the road. Is it like a knee replacement and need some work down the line? All the information I have found and studies are done in arthritic joints and the average age is almost double mine.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes this is the only factor against you, age! As conservative treatment should be done and if it works then fine but in your case the fusion of wrist was done by your surgeon to improve the quality of life taking all factors into consideration.
Now you should be careful with this wrist and preserve it. Do not lift weights or do any agressive work with this wrist. If you change your lifestyle and take care of your wrist there is nothing difficult down the road and there would not be any complications.
You can do normal activities slowly your strength will increase but avoid all the things your Orthopaedician has mentioned.
Take care!
Now you should be careful with this wrist and preserve it. Do not lift weights or do any agressive work with this wrist. If you change your lifestyle and take care of your wrist there is nothing difficult down the road and there would not be any complications.
You can do normal activities slowly your strength will increase but avoid all the things your Orthopaedician has mentioned.
Take care!
hey I busted both wrists in a dirtbike crash 5 years ago....non union of the scaffoid after a screw was inserted with 3 k wires, went back for the bone graft a few months later...been ok ever since, can deal with the pain and have adjusted to having pretty much no movement, think it may have partially fused itself. Its only just started giving me real pain and clicks and grinds constantly, so just thinkin about fusion for the long term. I am an Electrician and just wanted to know anyone out there who has had a fusion and does manual work with their hands for a living afterwards and if its a tough adjustment? also any tips for just keeping my wrist healthy ( things to do, things to avoid )? I'm 27
The only thing I have ever been told for my wrist is to wear a splint! It helped more with pain relief in the begining, but wearing one while you work might decrease the pain in the short term. CORFLEX makes a great "ultra cool fit" wrist splint.
Hope to hear what others have to say about the adjustment, I am interested too! If you are already use to no movement you might not have much to adjust to. Best of luck!
Hope to hear what others have to say about the adjustment, I am interested too! If you are already use to no movement you might not have much to adjust to. Best of luck!
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