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Month: August 2017

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General

Symptoms of Dupuytren’s Syndrome

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The hand is a vitally important part of the body because it is used to perform hundreds of normal tasks every day. One small problem with one of your hands can make it extremely difficult to live a normal life. This is why it is so important to look for and treat any abnormalities in your hands. One of the most common medical problems that affects the hands is Dupuytren’s syndrome.

Dupuytren’s syndrome is a medical condition that causes a deformity in the skin tissue near the palm of your hand. Large clumps of tissue will start to form under the skin. This will eventually cause a thick knot to form on the hand. If the knot is allowed to grow for an extended period of time, then it will cause your pinky and ring fingers to bend. The knot can become so big that it is impossible to straighten these fingers. The condition will only continue to get worse as you age, so you want to get it treated as quickly as possible.

The earliest symptom of Dupuytren’s syndrome is a thickening of the skin on your palm. This skin will eventually become dimpled before the large knot forms. It will not be painful to touch the lump in your palm. While Dupuytren’s syndrome can occur on both hands at the same time, one hand will be more deformed than the other.

The cause of Dupuytren’s syndrome is not currently known, but the condition is most common in men. It is known to be hereditary. If someone in your immediate family had this hand deformity, then you will likely get it too at some point in your life. The condition is also far more likely to occur after reaching middle age.

While Dupuytren’s syndrome is not life-threatening, it can limit your ability to properly use your hand. Opening your hand and holding objects will become extremely difficult if your condition is not treated in a timely manner.

There are treatment options available if Dupuytren’s syndrome is making it difficult to perform normal tasks with your hands. At Arora Hand Surgery, Dr. Arora and his team can come up with a customized treatment for you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at our office in West Bloomfield, Warren, Macomb, or Howell.

Categories
General Hands Treatments

Hand Injury? See a Hand Surgery Specialist in Southeast Michigan

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A hand surgery specialist is a medical doctor who diagnoses and treats disorders and injuries involving the hand, wrist and forearm. As such, hand specialists need to be able to treat the muscles, bones, skin, tendons and ligaments in the hand and neighboring area.

Most patients are referred to a hand specialist by their primary care physician.

What kind of training does a hand surgery specialist need?

A hand surgery specialist, also known as an orthopedic hand surgeon, is trained to perform surgery on the hand, wrist and forearm. They also learn how to treat injuries, diseases, deformities and congenital defects.

Like all medical doctors, hand specialists begin their education by going to medical school. After that, they serve a residency for five to seven years during which they study general surgery, orthopedic surgery or plastic surgery. After completing their residency, the hand specialist will undertake a fellowship devoted to hand surgery.

Hand surgeons often seek board certification, and they need to be certified twice. They will first need to be certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgery. Only after earning the certification in general surgery can a hand specialist seek certification in hand surgery. To get that certification, the hand surgeon needs to take an exam administered by either the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery or the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

What does a hand specialist treat?

Common conditions treated by a hand specialist can include the following:

  • Fractures
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Arthritis
  • Sports injuries
  • Trigger finger
  • Tennis elbow

What is a ganglion cyst?

A ganglion cyst is a benign tumor and the most common growth that develops on the hand. While they can develop in different locations, they usually appear on the back of the wrist. The ganglion cyst grows out of tissues like a ligaments or joint linings, and it is filled with a slippery and viscous fluid.

While researchers have not found a definitive cause for ganglion cysts, they have observed that the cysts develop after repeated stresses to a joint. Ganglion cysts are most common in young people between 15 and 40 years old, and they are more common in women than in men.

Small ganglion cysts are generally harmless, but bigger ones can cause pain and muscle weakness by pressing on a nerve and affect appearance.

There are many ways to treat ganglion cysts ranging from simply watching to see if it goes away on its own through immobilizing the joint to surgically removing the cyst.

What is tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow, more formally known as lateral epicondylitis, is a type of tendonitis that affects the outside of the forearm. It is caused by repetitive overuse that causes the tendons near the elbow to develop small tears. Those tears can cause inflammation and make it painful and difficult to grip or lift objects. Untreated tennis elbow can become chronic. Our hand surgery specialist can provide you with the proper course of treatment depending on your needs.

If you have suffered a hand injury, visit our trusted hand surgery specialist at Arora Hand Surgery, located in Howell, West Bloomfield, Macomb, and Warren. Contact us today to schedule your consultation and learn more!

Categories
Fingers General

Determining if You Have a Nail Bed Injury

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You’ve suffered trauma to your nail. Whether it is your fingernail or your toenail, it can make your life miserable. You might have caught your nail in a door, had something dropped on it or broken a bone that caused damage to your nail as well. One of the first things that you are bound to notice is a lot of pain. If it happens to one of your fingers, it makes it very difficult to perform daily tasks that involve your hands. If it happens to your toes, you may be challenging to walk or to have an active lifestyle. Wearing a shoe on the affected foot can be such a struggle that you can only wear shoes with open toes. You have to be extremely careful about banging an injured nail because it is going to be painful for a long time until it heals. You most likely have a nail bed injury.

How Do You Know if You Have a Nail Bed Injury?

If your toenail or fingernail has been damaged in some way or has received a hard blow, you have probably damaged your nail bed. If blood gathers under the nail or if you have bleeding around the nail, you have nail bed damage. If the nail cracks and falls off, your nail bed has been injured. If the nail is torn from your nail bed, there is no doubt that your nail bed has been damaged by the experience. Bleeding, intense pain, sensitivity and evidence of torn skin are all signs that you have injured your nail bed. You can expect a lengthy healing process following your injury.

What Can You Do for a Nail Bed Injury?

Treatment for a nail bed injury will depend on how severe the damage is. If it’s as simple as blood pooling beneath the nail, the blood may be drained away or additional bleeding may be stopped. If there is any of the nail remaining, the nail can be removed. If there are any types of lacerations to the nail bed, these can be stitched. Once your nail bed has been treated, you can wear a splint on that finger or toe to protect it.

When caring for your injured nail bed at home, be sure to rinse it well, keep it clean with antibacterial soap and apply antibacterial ointment. When you are able, expose it to the open air to promote healing. However, when you are out and about, you need to keep your nail bed covered to keep it clean and avoid infection. It typically takes between three and six months before the nail grows back in.

See Our Doctor About Nail Bed Injuries

If you have been the victim of a nail bed injury, make an appointment to see our doctor for an evaluation at Arora Hand Surgery. Be sure to follow instructions and take good care of your injured nail bed while you are home. Contact us at our offices in Warren, Macomb, Howell, or West Bloomfield today to schedule your consultation and learn about your treatment options.

Categories
General

When to Consult a Hand Surgeon

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Your hand is such a delicate yet intricate marvel of design. That is why the surgeons who operate on your hand need to be highly skilled. Our experienced hand surgeon can help you if you’re dealing with pain as a result of an injury, a congenital defect, or overuse of your hand.

The primary reason why people consult our hand surgeon is because they’ve injured their hand. Hand injuries are exceptionally common simply because we use our hands for everything. It is not rare for a person to hurt their hand with a power tool, break a finger, develop carpal tunnel syndrome, or develop other syndromes that are associated with overuse. Left on their own, injuries to the hand do not get better. This is because regardless of if your hand is injured or not, you are going to keep using it. You’ll keep using your hand until the injury has gotten so bad that you cannot use your hand anymore. You may try at-home treatments, but you are going to reach a point where all of these things fail. When that happens, you should get in touch with our hand surgeon.

There are some degenerative disorders that can affect your hand. One of the more common degenerative disorders that affects people today is rheumatoid arthritis. This condition is disabling. It leaves your hand deformed and makes it difficult for you to straighten your hand out or use your hand normally in everyday actions. Rheumatoid arthritis not only limits the quality of your life, but it also minimizes just how independent you can be. There are different steps that our hand surgeon can take to help individuals dealing with rheumatoid arthritis.

Congenital defects of the hand are also very common. This is because your hands are some of the last things to fully develop in the womb. Hand defects not only limit what a person can do physically, but they can also lead to emotional pain.

The hands and the wrists are unbelievably complex. Before any type of procedure is formed on them, you should have an in-person conversation with our skilled hand surgeon at Arora Hand Surgery. Dr. Arora’s goals are to help improve functionality, help improve aesthetics, and help improve the overall workings of your hand. All of this should lead to a better quality of life overall.

Arora Hand Surgery has offices in Warren, Macomb Township, West Bloomfield, and Howell. Contact us today to schedule a time to consult our hand surgeon!

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Dr. Aroras office from my first call to schedule my appointment was friendly. Walking in the first day, I felt like I was in a nice atmosphere. Dr. Arora was EXCELLENT in taking great care of my hand injury. He was gentle and very understanding to the concerns I had about my hand. His expertise was admirable and I would recommend anyone with an injury to their hand to his office to be under his care. Because of him, I have healed faster than expected and will make an 100% recovery! Thank you Dr.

Jackie S.

I first thought I was going to have to have painful injections or surgery, but Dr. Arora suggested physical therapy may do the trick. I was doubtful, but I agreed to do it. Now, my pain is gone, and with the help of an ergonomic keyboard at work to keep my hands in the correct position, I am virtually pain free. The therapy strengthened my wrists and shoulders, and built more flexibility into my wrists.

Jerry T.

My experience with this doctor was positive from the outset. Dr. Arora was kind and spent a great deal of time with me. Staff was friendly. The office was nice and bright.

Ariel G.

Very friendly and helpful Great staff!!! Doctor Arora was very professional and did great work. I was very happy with everything!

L B.