Wrist Fusion Surgery

My wrist has a lot of damage that occurred before I was diagnosed.   Back then I saw a surgeon who would have been happy to do many procedures but I could not believe that it was necessary then.

25 years later...

Recently I was worried that I might have a ruptured tendon so I saw an orthopedic surgeon.  His opinion was that I had to have my wrist fused before any other surgery occurred. He said a replacement wrist joint was not an option for me, given the spotty success rate.  Since there was only about 10 degrees of movement in my wrist it sounded as though I would not lose much dexterity and my hand would be in a more functional position.

This is one view of how it looked before the surgery:

You can see that the hand above has ulnar deviation. This is the way it looks now:

It's been straightened out. Very strange how you don't really notice as things change over the years.  Finger deformities have always seemed more obvious than the orientation of the hand. 

My operation was 5 weeks ago.  It was done as day surgery and it took  2 1/2 hours to complete.  I had a nerve block that numbed my whole arm.  When I saw my arm and could not feel it it seemed to belong to someone else.  

After the operation they put a cast on from below the knuckles to above the elbow yet left me able to bend my arm a little.  You can't tell that from the picture because the cast is wrapped in a tensor bandage.  There is an open gap down the whole cast to accommodate swelling.  That purple arrow on the shoulder must be where they injected the block.  There were more markings under the cast.

The nerve block was very effective and I have moderate regrets I did not stay  conscious through the operation to hear the surgeon talk his mentee through the process. However my curiosity wilted once they started.  I hear the noise level in the OR is high and I know surgeons use power tools in their work. Remembering the noises was not on my bucket list.

Now that my wrist is fused it is supposed to be a pain free joint and stronger than it was.  It's early to say how that will work out but my fingers still move well. They were very bruised and swollen but that's normal after surgery.  Anything the surgeon touches seems to bruise and swell dramatically lately.

I am told that the incision is healing well and is meticulously stitched - it will probably be unobtrusive. In the top picture you can barely see it.

                                               4 1/2 weeks after surgery

                                             just after stitches and cast were removed


I was glad to see this blog before my surgery. Reading someone's story of the process is more illuminating than reading the technical sites like Wheeless. I had read enough that there were no surprises after the surgery.

All in all my hand looks better in profile and straight on. After the cast was removed my elbow range of motion was diminished but with rehab exercise from the OT I have regained most of it.

There is still some pain in my wrist as it heals, and I am must wear a splint for the next month. The OT custom-makes them for each hand surgery patient.  The splint can be removed for washing and exercise.

                                     The Splint