Nervous newbie. With questions about tapezioctomy.

Marblegenie
Marblegenie Member Posts: 5
edited 24. Jan 2019, 07:36 in Say Hello Archive
Hello there, I was wondering if anyone could give me a few pointers...I am due to have a left hand trapezioctmy( hopefully my spelling will improve!) in January.
I am a set-dresser and props maker by trade, so I guess I’ve always demanded a lot from my hands and now they are rebelling. I’m left handed, so this just gets better and better. I have a small insurance policy that gives me approximately 3 months cover, but I am wanting to know if I will be able to go back to my work.i use needle and thread a lot, so it’s often a combination of fine motor skills and heavy grappling to hang lighting or manoeuvre big stuff into position. When I got a copy of the letter of intent sent from my consultant to my doctor, I got the impression that he hadn’t really grasped the importance of my questions. He wrote that he felt I wasn’t able to do ‘crafting’! Granted I sometimes have to create a bit of knitting or embroidery, but I don’t think he realised it’s my bread and butter, not just something I do when the telly is broken! I’m totally committed to tackling the physio and rehabilitation it will take afterwards, I just wish someone could give me a better gauge of what I can expect... if I knew people have this procedure and then can knit, sew, stick down carpet and model clay, I’d feel less apprehensive. Am I asking for the moon on a stick? I really just wanted to ask the surgeon, would he go for it, based on the requirements of his job. Basically my skeleton hates me. Thank you so much for any pointers.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Marblegenie
    welcome to the forum. Your question about the recovery from a trapeziectomy is quite a complex one because sadly we are all individuals and how we recover does vary from person to person. Having said that you might find this section of the website about hand a wrist surgery useful. https://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/surgery/hand-and-wrist-surgery/common-types-hand-surgery.aspx
    There have been quite a few people on here who have had the surgery in the past so here is a few links for you
    https://arthritiscareforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=48703&hilit=trapeziectomy
    https://arthritiscareforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=48528&hilit=trapeziectomy
    Please keep asking as many questions as you need as this is obviously an important decision for you, as you say this is about your hands which you use intensively as a way of making your living so being as prepared and informed as possible is very important.
    Best Wishes
    Sharon
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello, I have had many operations but not this one. There are some threads about it on the forum (a recent post on this board was from someone who felt she was not recovering quickly enough, we all think that post-op) but obviously with your very interesting livelihood dependent upon using your hands this has a potentially huge impact.

    I am not a doc but I am a veteran of many surgeries and I have learned this: to get the best outcome do what you are told, rest, eat well and mentally double the length of time people tell you that recovery will take. Begin by doing a very little and gradually build that rather going hell-for-leather and undoing all the surgeon's good work. You must stress the importance of your work to your docs, they see many people and we do not stand out as individuals unless we make ourselves memorable: I suggest showing them photographs of your work to help you emerge from the crowd. I wish you well and please let us know how you get on. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,280
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Marblegenie and welcome to the forum
    Sorry I cant help, I have been down for this op for a couple of years now but put it off till I got my new hips..I do know we have had a couple of people on the forum having the same, so if you do a search at the top of the forum something should come up..I do wish you well with it and hope you will keep us updated..
    Love
    Barbara
  • Marblegenie
    Marblegenie Member Posts: 5
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thank you to all the replies...what a lovely bunch you are! I shall dig into the other posts, to get as much information as possible on both the procedure, and the recovery. But I am very glad, to have received all your advice, and... kindness. This might be more complicated than I originally thought...
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    bumped up for amytan.
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Marblegenie
    Marblegenie Member Posts: 5
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Trapeziectomy, 1 year on.
    Hi everyone m I though it might be helpful to check in one year down the line from my trapeziectomy.
    All I can say is ‘Wow!’ What a life changer! The first few days/ weeks left me wondering if I hadn’t made a terrible mistake, but that was probably more due to my impatience and lack of post op guidelines from the hospital that did the operation.
    Everything I learnt about ‘what to do next’ I gleaned from the internet so do be careful and selective when doing your research.
    Most of the physio guidelines I found came from the U.S, or one uk hospital in the West Country.
    What no one had prepared me for was the minimum 6 weeks no driving following the procedure. Luckily I had chopped plenty of wood and done an epic clean prior to the op.
    But all in all, I am pain free, and everything is fine, the two actions that remind me of the operation, are trying to pinch a peg, or getting my debit card out of my purse when it is firmly stuck in the card holding slot. Apart for those actions, everything else is working well. I think the anaesthetic lasts longer than the effects of the trapeziectomy to my motor skills.
    I have to start begging now for my gp to take me seriously when I ask for a referral to an osteoarthritis expert for my toe,which seems to have jumped on the bandwagon.
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thank you so much for this update which many might find useful. We don't get a lot of feedback from trapeziectomy people once all is going well so it's very good to have some. I note your mention of 6 weeks no driving. I get the impression, from many who have had trapeziectomies, that, because it looks such a small procedure, they feel they should be up and doing things almost immediately. Clearly, healing time is essential and thanks again for letting us know.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright