Here Is Complete Guide To Hand Surgery:
In cases like an accident or sports injuries, deformity, or inflammation, hand surgery is considered an important procedure that can restore the functioning of our hands. There are different kinds of surgeries around the world, especially when it comes to hand surgery.
To repair tendons or nerves is complex as it sounds but quite promising to restore the motion of the fingers or your hands. The other causes of surgery can be infections, birth problems, any disease that can damage the structure of the hand or degenerative changes.
Major Types of Hand Surgery:
Below are the types considered to be major by the hand surgery associates:
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Skin flaps:
In a skin flap surgery, the skin is taken from another part of the body that has its own blood supply. Skin flaps are used when your hand surgery is missing an area with skin or it has less blood supply due to the damage of tissues or nerves. The damage can be caused by a car accident or even from falling from stairs. The blood supply is important in this surgery that’s why a section of the skin from under the fats or blood vessels is used for proper treatment.
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Skin grafts:
Skin grafts are more like flaps when it comes to hand surgery but do not involve the particular part of replacing skin with your own blood supply. The procedure is the same as grafting also means replacing the missing skin area with another body part skin that becomes the donor site. Skin grafts are one of the types of hand surgery that treats amputations.
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Tendon repair:
It is one of the most difficult types of hand surgery as it involves the fibers that join muscles to bones known as tendons. Repairing tendons is a complex procedure and it can cause a lot of blood loss and even damage the nerves.
Tendon injuries are more commonly caused by trauma, infections, and accidental injuries. The tendon repair surgery is further divided into primary, delayed primary, and secondary repair based on the injury.
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Closed reduction and fixation:
This type of hand surgery is performed in the case of a broken bone or fracture. It is also a complex surgery that can sometimes also involve the help of wires, rods, and splints to support the mobility of the hand and fingers. It also supports the broken bone and keeps it in the exact place.
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Fasciotomy:
Fasciotomy is the treatment of healing or treating compartment syndrome. It is a painful problem that can occur in any part of the body. It causes swelling and inflammation that reduces the blood flow and causes high pressure in a small compartment for example a hand.
This problem can cause a lot of pain and infection that can spread in the body. Therefore, it is considered wise to contact a hand surgeon immediately in this case. The doctor cuts your hand to lower the pressure and let the blood flow.
During the treatment, the doctor also analyzes the further damage and if there is any muscle that needs to be removed it is done at the same time.
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Joint replacement:
In our list of types of hand surgery, the most common one is a joint replacement which is also famous for its scientific name arthroplasty. It is an illness of severe hand arthritis in which the joint is removed and replaced with an artificial one. These joints can be made of any metal, plastic, or rubber but the doctors do recommend making it off your body fibers known as tendons.
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Hand Surgery Replantation:
It is a type of microsurgery that re-attach a certain body part and in this case, maybe a finger that is cut-off from the hand. Replantation is another type of complex surgery that takes time and specific tools. Moreover, the whole treatment is performed under a microscope and sometimes more than one surgery is required for proper attachment and functioning of hands.
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Hand Surgery Nerve repairs:
Another common yet complex surgery that with one mistake can damage the functioning of your hands temporarily or permanently. Nerve repairs are necessary as they can be damaged due to a lot of factors and if it’s not taken care of, it can cause immense pain and eventually damage the mobility of that certain body part.
This hand surgery is done after 3 to 6 weeks of the injury to make sure and analyze the linking of nerves. Moreover, it involves nerve graft and flaps as a procedure too to make sure that the damaged nerves are replaced or attached with the other ends of the functioning nerves.
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Surgical drainage:
Surgical drainage is the treatment of hand infections that causes pus. Sometimes the infection can be controlled and healed with medications but if the situation is severe, hand surgery is the only way to make it clean and purify it from the wounds and further infection.
Are There Any Risks Involved in Hand Surgeries?
Of course, there are many hand surgeries that are quite complex. The over bleeding and anesthesia side effects can be the risks here but it depends quite a lot on the surgery.
For example, the nerves are an important part of our body without which we cannot function. Slight damage to them and can cause temporary or permanent problems to your hand. Moreover, you need a professional surgeon so you are safe from any sort of infections, blood clots, the spread of diseases, and incomplete healing.
