Summary
Rockhampton’s Dianne Ferguson gives a big thumbs up to getting the very first thumb joint replacement in Central and northern Queensland, thanks to an innovative procedure offered at Rockhampton Hospital.
Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr Simon Fleming is very familiar with the procedure from his work in the United Kingdom, however this technology is relatively new to Australia.
As a hand and wrist surgeon, he was very keen to offer this treatment to his patients, and they’ve been very grateful to have the opportunity.
He said it had taken nearly a year of planning and input from teams across the hospital to implement this new service.
“Patients in regional Australia deserve the same standards of care they might receive in a metropolitan area,” Dr Fleming said.
“This operation will allow people to get back to work and reduce their pain in a way that up until recently wasn’t possible in Australia.
“The thumb is the most important digit in the hand. It provides 50% of your hand function – holding a pen, holding cutlery, brushing your hair … loss of use of your thumb can stop you living your life.
“It not only affects your physical health, but your mental health, your relationships … the ability to reduce pain and improve function is why I became an orthopaedic surgeon.
“It’s the ability to solve a problem. Someone comes in with a hand they can’t use, and I do an hour-long operation and within two weeks they have a hand they can use again.”
Mrs Ferguson was thrilled to be the first in line, after suffering with arthritic pain for many years.
“I am having my left thumb replaced first because I’m left-handed and that’s the one that gives me the most pain,” she said before the surgery on September 26.
At her follow-up appointment less than two weeks after the surgery she was delighted with the result, saying she’d already noticed a big difference.
“It’s great. I just love it!” she said.
She says it’s an absolute game-changer to live without pain and have the use back in her left hand which will make a big difference in her job as a disability support worker.
Known as a carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ) arthroplasty, the new joint is inserted in a similar way to a hip replacement, on a much smaller scale. The tiny new joint makes a huge difference to patients living with chronic pain, and unable to properly use their hand.