Introduction Thumb arthritis may be surgically treated with a procedure called excision arthroplasty. The term excision means to take out. In this surgery, the surgeon takes out a small bone at the base of the thumb and fills in the space with a rolled up section of tendon. The soft...

Introduction Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition affecting the wrist and hand. While the most common surgical procedure for a carpal tunnel release is still the open-incision technique, some surgeons are using a new procedure, called endoscopic carpal tunnel release. The procedure is done using an endoscope (a small,...

Introduction Dupuytren's contracture is a fairly common disorder of the fingers. It most often affects the ring or little finger, sometimes both, and often in both hands. The disorder may occur suddenly but more commonly progresses slowly over a period of years. The disease usually doesn't cause symptoms until after...

Introduction Dupuytren's contracture is a fairly common disorder of the fingers. It most often affects the ring or little finger, sometimes both, and often in both hands. Although the exact cause is unknown, it occurs most often in middle-aged, white men and is genetic in nature, meaning it runs in...

Introduction Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common problem affecting the hand and wrist. Symptoms begin when the median nerve gets squeezed inside the carpal tunnel of the wrist, a medical condition known as nerve entrapment. Any condition that decreases the size of the carpal tunnel or enlarges the tissues...

Introduction The tendons that allow each finger to straighten, the extensor tendons, at first appear to be relatively simple. But as the extensor tendon runs into the finger, it becomes a complex and elegantly balanced mechanism that allows very fine control of the motion of each joint of the finger....

Introduction If nonsurgical treatments are not successful in easing problems of thumb arthritis, your doctor may recommend replacing the surfaces of the joint. Joint replacement surgery is called arthroplasty. This guide will help you understand which parts of the thumb are involved how surgeons perform this surgery what to expect...

Introduction If nonsurgical treatments are not successful in easing problems of finger arthritis, your doctor may recommend replacing the surfaces of the joint. Joint replacement surgery is called joint arthroplasty. This guide will help you understand what parts make up the finger joint how the operation is performed what to...

Introduction When you stop to think about how much you use your thumbs, it's easy to see why the joint where the thumb attaches to the hand can suffer from wear and tear. This joint is designed to give the thumb its rather large range of motion, but the tradeoff...