Who is a hand surgeon?
Hand surgeons are experts in the non-surgical and surgical treatments of disorders and injuries affecting the upper extremities. They may come from plastic surgery, orthopedics, or general surgery backgrounds. They can address conditions impacting the hands, fingers, wrists, arms, and elbows. Many can also treat the shoulders.
Hand surgeons treat patients of all ages, including children, adolescents, and adults. They usually work in hospitals, orthopedic clinics, plastic surgery centers, rehabilitation clinics, and private practices.
What is the education and training of hand surgeons?
Hand surgeons undergo extensive education and training of at least 14 years. They begin by earning a 4-year bachelor's degree followed by a 4-year medical degree. Next, they complete a residency training program in any of the three specialties recognized by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Examination (ACGME):
- General surgery (5-year program): Focuses on a wide range of surgeries for treating common conditions and injuries
- Orthopedic surgery (5-year program): Deals with surgical management of the musculoskeletal system, including joints, muscles, connective tissue, and bones
- Plastic surgery (5-7 year program): Involves reconstructive and cosmetic surgical procedures to enhance the appearance or function of the affected areas
Finally, hand surgeons must complete a year-long ACGME-accredited fellowship program in hand surgery to gain in-depth knowledge and skills in the field. After completing the training, they undergo the necessary examinations for board certification.
What conditions do hand surgeons treat?
A hand surgeon is qualified to diagnose, treat, manage, and prevent various health conditions and injuries affecting the skin, nails, muscles, bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and nerves of the upper extremities. A few of the common ones include:
- Arthritis causes severe joint inflammation, leading to symptoms such as pain, redness, swelling, and stiffness. It can affect one's ability to perform everyday tasks with ease. Hand surgeons specialize in treating arthritis in the finger, wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome: When a median nerve in the wrist gets pinched, it causes Carpal tunnel syndrome with numbness, pain, and tingling in the hand.
- Cubital tunnel syndrome: When the ulnar nerve on the inner side of the elbow gets inflamed, it causes cubital tunnel syndrome. Common symptoms include numbness, tingling, and pain in the hand, primarily upon bending the elbow, continuous ache on the inside of the elbow, and a weak grip on objects.
- Joint dislocations: Joint dislocations are serious injuries wherein two bones meeting at a joint move from their normal position, causing immense pain and joint immobility. Hand surgeons deal with joint dislocations of the fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders.
- Fractures: Hand surgeons operate and repair broken bones in all parts of the hand.
- Infections: Infections in the upper extremities can lead to symptoms like pain, redness, swelling, loss of strength, and stiffness.
- Ganglion cysts are benign growths that appear on the joints or tendons of the wrist and hand. Usually, this condition does not cause any symptoms. Rarely, there may be pain or discomfort if the cyst is giant or pressing on a nerve.
- Trigger finger or thumb: This condition causes the finger or thumb to get locked in a bent position and suddenly pop back straight. It leads to stiffness, tenderness, swelling, or a lump in the palm below the affected finger.
- Tennis elbow is an overuse ailment or injury of the muscles and tendons in the elbow that causes pain in the forearm, elbow, and wrist.
- Traumatic injuries: These include severe lacerations, abrasions, punctures, burns, and other injuries affecting any part of the upper extremities.
- Congenital disabilities: Hand surgeons can treat a range of congenital deformities of the upper extremities. Some examples include club hands, webbed or fused fingers, and extra fingers.
Different types of hand surgery
Depending on the ailment and its causes, the different types of hand surgery include the following:
Tendons are fibrous tissues that bind the muscles with the bone. Trauma, sudden rupture, or infection can cause injury to the tendons, thus requiring tendon repair surgery. Depending on the damage, tendon repair surgery can be divided into three types: primary, delayed primary, and secondary repairs.
Skin graft surgery involves attaching healthy skin to the affected hand area where the skin is missing. In this surgery, healthy skin is taken from the donor site (usually another part of the body) and attached to the injured part of the hand. Hand surgeons recommend skin grafts for fingertip injuries or amputations.
Skin flap surgery is similar to skin grafts. However, in this procedure, the skin taken from the donor site has its blood supply, including blood vessels, muscles, and fat. Hand surgeons recommend skin flap surgery when the affected area does not have a proper blood supply due to extensive tissue damage and damage to blood vessels.
Replantation surgery helps reattach a hand that has been wholly severed or cut from the body. The primary goal is to restore physical functions in the reattached hand. Replantation involves complex microsurgery using tiny tools and is conducted under a microscope. Severe injury cases may require multiple surgeries to restore essential functions in the severed part.
- Closed reduction and fixation
This procedure is conducted in case of a broken bone or bone fracture in the hand and fingers. The surgery helps realign the broken bones, immobilizes them, and holds them in position when healing. Internal fixtures like casts, splints, rods, and wires are used to immobilize broken bones.
Injury or trauma can damage the nerves in a part of the hand. It could lead to loss of feeling (or sensation) in the hand or loss of hand functions. A few nerve injuries may self-heal, while others may require nerve repair surgery. Surgery is conducted about three to five weeks post-injury in complicated nerve injury cases. In contrast, the hand surgeon may recommend immediate surgery in uncomplicated nerve injury cases.
Joint replacement surgery, or arthroplasty, is conducted in severe hand arthritis cases. It replaces the damaged joint with an artificial joint made of silicone rubber, plastic, metal, or body tissues.
What to expect from your first visit to a hand surgeon?
A hand surgeon near you will begin the appointment by talking about your condition. You can expect them to ask you various questions regarding your symptoms, including:
The hand surgeon will also discuss your other health conditions, current medications, past surgeries or injuries, allergies, family history, and lifestyle habits.
After a detailed discussion, the hand surgeon will conduct a physical exam to assess the ailment further. The parameters they will consider include mobility, range of motion, muscle strength, and fine motor function. They will also check for discoloration or temperature changes in the affected areas. If necessary, the hand surgeon may order diagnostic tests such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, or blood tests.
Finally, they will explain your diagnosis and discuss your treatment options. The first-line treatment includes non-surgical alternatives such as pain medications, physical therapy, ice application, steroid injections, splinting, compress, and rest. However, if none of these results are in progress or your condition is more serious, the hand surgeon may recommend surgery.
Find the best hand surgeons near you in Orlando, FL
Our hands are a crucial part of our body. We use them daily, including lifting objects, typing a message, cooking, gardening, or weight training. If any part of our upper extremities is affected, it can hamper our ability to perform these and many other tasks. Over time, it can gravely impact our quality of life. If you are in a situation like this, it may be time to consult a hand surgeon.
Zocdoc can help you find a highly qualified hand surgeon in minutes. All you have to do is go to the website and enter the required information in the search box at the top of the home page. It includes the specialty (hand surgeon), location, and insurance details. Once you click on the find button, you will receive the desired results.
If you want to know your insurance plan, upload an image of the insurance card to your Zocdoc account, and we will find and display information regarding your insurance plan (this facility is not available for vision or dental plans). You can check out Zocdoc's patient help center for more information and solutions related to insurance.
If the list of hand surgeons seems too daunting, you can use filters to simplify it. You can provide your preferences regarding the appointment date and time, travel distance, and type of consultation (in-person/ virtual). You can also select your reason for visiting, such as hand or wrist pain, to get matched with the providers specializing in treating those conditions.
Additionally, if you have special requirements, such as consulting a female provider or someone fluent in a non-English language, you can apply filters to accommodate them.
Zocdoc believes in keeping the provider-patient relationship transparent. Hence, you will find relevant information about each provider, including their education and training, hospital affiliations, board certifications, and awards. Furthermore, you can review patient feedback for more insights.
Finally, once you have found a hand surgeon near you in Orlando, FL, go ahead and book an appointment with them via Zocdoc — it is easy, secure, and 100% free!
Statistics on arthritis in Florida
According to America's Health Rankings, in 2022, around 28.4% of adults in Florida had some form of arthritis. Compared to the past few years, the prevalence of this condition has been on a steady rise. In 2020, an estimated 24% of Floridians had arthritis.
In 2022, more females (≈31.8% or about 2,920,100 cases) had arthritis than males (≈24.8% or around 2,129,700 instances). With nearly 52% or almost 2,575,400 of the affected adults aged 65+, this condition was most common among older adults. However, it was also prevalent among other age groups—an estimated 33.6% (almost 1,879,500) of the affected population was aged 45-64, while about 8.2% (around 594,800) were between 18 and 44 years old.
Sources
WebMD
Castle Connolly Top Doctors
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
NYU Langone Hospitals
The Orthopaedic Hand and Arm Center
Center for Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine
America’s Health Rankings[1]
America’s Health Rankings[2]
America’s Health Rankings[3]
American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Johns Hopkins Medicine
