← Return to Stiff fingers and wrist after distal radius surgery

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I underwent distal radial reduction with a bone graft in June of 2022. I went to physical therapy weekly (45 minute drive one-way) for about 9 months until I was discharged from it. I had the procedure done by an acclaimed surgeon at the facility that he helped found (They did the very first arm reattachment in the USA fith the patient regainng full use of their extremities). All in all, I have been pleased with the results of my surgery but as time has passed, I've noticed several things 'off' that are getting progressively worse. I am 43 years old and I have a sharp protrusion in the center or of the top of my wrist and the pain is getting worse as time passes. Sometimes it's tender to the touch and it looks like I have a heavily scarred muscle underneath the tissue and that knot is growing larger as well. I'm not sure what to make of it and Dr. Kleinman has since retired and he was the one who did my surgery. He was really fair priced for the amount of work he had done, btw. His fee was under 7,000 dollars to take 20ml of bone from my pelvis and shape and graft it, installed the harware (A titanium plate and 11 screws, plus some wiring), and he had to go in on the top AND bottom of my wrist to get everything put back together. I have regained 95% of function, but I have noticed that them more I use it to it's full level, the more intense the pain is. I hold no hard feelings over the fact that something is going on with it because I am sure it has nothing to do with the work Kleinman had done, but is more along the lines of my body having a hard time accepting the foreign objects. My fingers and thumb move fine, but my wrist range of motion is becoming more and more limited and the more I try to use my rehabilitative exercises, the worse the pain gets.

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Replies to "I underwent distal radial reduction with a bone graft in June of 2022. I went to..."

@bdcb Welcome to Connect. It sounds like you need an evaluation to know what is going on. My suggestion is to see an orthopedic trauma surgeon. I had an ankle fracture fixed at Mayo and later on when my body didn’t like the titanium hardware, my surgeon removed all of it and I have been fine ever since.

My surgeon was Andy Sems at Mayo in Rochester. He specializes in recreating lost structure and does things to either lengthen or reshape bones if that is needed. I think he would be the level of expertise that you are looking for.

The first thing I would suggest is to check the Mayo website for insurance information and perhaps call them to check if your insurance is accepted at Mayo. Dr. Sems is excellent and I would highly recommend him.