Let me give you a hand

My mom had surgery on her hand last week to replace an arthritic joint. I know many people have heard of knee replacement, but it seems as I tell people about my mom's surgery, most are surprised that doctors can and do replace joints in the fingers.

So I found this neat page at Hand University on how the joint replacement surgery works. It has illustrations and animations, but nothing gory. From that website, here is a brief description of the surgery:

An incision is made across the back of the finger joints that are to be replaced. The soft tissues are spread apart with a retractor. Special care is taken not to damage the nearby nerve that passes by the joint. The joint is exposed. The ends of the bones that form the finger joint surfaces are taken off, forming flat surfaces. A burr (a small cutting tool) is used to make a canal into the bones that form the finger joint. The doctor then sizes the stem of the prosthesis to ensure a snug fit into the hollow bone
marrow space of the bone. The prosthesis is inserted into the ends of both finger bones. When the new joint is in place, the surgeon wraps the joint with a strip of nearby ligament to form a tight sack. This gives the new implant some added protection and stability. The soft tissues are sewn together, and the finger is splinted and bandaged.

I am told she is recovering nicely, and my parents will be here tomorrow to set up camp next to our house for a couple of weeks. She had the same surgery done on her left hand a while back, and has been very happy with the results.

Isn't modern medicine amazing?