Hand injuries are so common in day to day life. From door trap injury to crushing injury in RTA. It is the most common part of our body to get injured. Why?
Because whenever you fall hands come in front to save you. They are the first line of defence of our body.
Hand are the most delicate and complex part of our body. Their complexity can be understood by the fact that brain has a maximum cortical representation of hand known as a cortical homunculus.
As important they are to us for our day to day activity they are notorious for one thing. Once injured and not taken care of they get stiff very easily like a stubborn child. And the same hand which does so much work for you disobeys your every command and become a source of your constant frustration and pain.
Unfortunately, hand injuries are most often neglected. Saying it is just a minor fracture, it is only a finger it is just nailed bed injury we tend to ignore things which later on become a nuisance for us.
The most important aspect of treatment of any hand injury is skeletal stabilisation, soft tissue reconstruction, and early mobilisation.
Who is a hand surgeon?
Well, he is the one who tries to keep this stubborn child in control. A hand surgeon deals with all the problems you can think of affecting your hand and upper limb. Be it a nerve compression, be it a tendon injury, be it a bony injury. Hand surgeon deals with the hand in toto.
What is the spectrum of disease a hand surgeon deals?
It’s a common thing when you say hand surgeon a person feels like this doctor deals with only hand. True but only one-third of reality.
Hand surgeon deals with all the issues which can affect the working of hand. Such problems can be arising from brain like cerebral palsy or from nerves like brachial plexus injury or tendon injury.
So if we explain in simple terms a hand surgeon deals with:
1. Brain injury or cerebral palsy affecting the hand and upper limb function.
2. Brachial plexus injury in adult or child leading to inability to move hand or upper limb.
3. Nerve injury-causing motor and sensory deficit of hand and upper limb.
4. Tendon injuries causing the inability of a person to move the affected finger/fingers.
5. Complex fracture of wrist and hands causing stiffness of hand/upper limb.
6. Any swelling of hand wrist or upper limb.
7. Any birth defect of hand and upper limb causing absent fingers, fused fingers or deviated forearm.
8. Any post-traumatic stiffness of hand and upper limb.
9. Any fingers or hand contracture because of thermal or electric current injury.
In the end, just a simple quote to get best results in hand surgery is TO MAKE THE HAND WORK YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE HAND WORK!