Who Needs Hand Surgery?

Surgery of any kind is an undertaking, but it can also be the most effective solution for many orthopaedic problems, including those that develop in your all-important hands.

At Western Orthopaedics, our team of highly qualified and experienced orthopedic surgeons, including hand surgery specialist Dr. Thomas Mordick II, understands when conservative measures are called for and when surgery is the best path forward. To give you an idea of when hand surgery might be the best solution, we outline a few scenarios here.

Complex or severe fractures

Your hands are incredibly complex and contain three sets of small but crucial bones, including your:

• Phalanges — the 14 bones found in your fingers
• Metacarpals — the five bones in each of your hands
• Carpals — the eight bones that form each of your wrists

Depending upon which bone is fractured and the degree of the fracture, you may need to undergo hand surgery to remedy the problem. 

We perform several types of fracture surgeries, including:

• Traction to align your bones
• External fixation, in which we place screws or pins through the outside of your skin to hold the bones in place
• Open reduction and internal fixation, in which we open your hand and secure the bones internally with rods, screws, and/or metal plates

The type of surgery we recommend is aimed at helping the bones in your hand heal in a way that preserves use.

Tendon repair

Outside of your bones, your hands also contain important tendons that facilitate function. Tendons are the strong bands of tissue that join your muscles to your bones, and when they’re damaged, it can impede the use of your hands.

If you tear or sever a tendon in an accident, we prefer to go in quickly to repair and reconnect the tissue as quickly as possible. In many cases, we can repair your existing tendon, but if there’s been considerable damage, we may use a tendon graft.

Nerve repair

Much like your tendons, your nerves can be damaged, which affects how you use your hands. If the effect is moderate to severe, we can go in surgically to repair the nerve or use a nerve graft to restore function.

Infection care

If you have an infection in your hand, we may use minimally invasive surgical techniques to drain the pus and remove any contaminated tissue to halt the infection and promote healing.

In all of these cases, our primary objective is to help you heal as quickly as possible and regain full use of your hands. To that end, we use minimally invasive surgical techniques whenever possible to minimize your risks and to speed up recovery.

If you suspect you may need hand surgery, contact one of our two offices in Denver or Arvada, Colorado, to set up an appointment.