The Hand Doctor Is In!

Animated hand anatomy overview

Greg Balourdas — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:09:07 +0000

Notice at 41 seconds how the carpal tunnel is filled with the tendons and tendon sheath… now put the median nerve in there.. not much room!
Greg Balourdas, MD

AAOS Orthopedic Annual Meeting

Greg Balourdas — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:33:04 +0000

I spent a great 5 days in San Francisco at the annual international meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Getting an update on the latest Technology and Techniques. Saw a lot, learned a few things too! Pictures are also posted on FB. https://www.facebook.com/TheHandDoctor. Stay tuned for more information on the latest on the non-surgical treatment for Dupuytren’s Contracture…

Trying some new surgical instruments

FOOSH!!

Greg Balourdas — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:32:32 +0000

You’ve FOOSHed before and probably didn’t even realize you were doing it! In my world this stands for one of the most common events which result in injuries to the hand, wrist and arm. It’s a natural reflex to protect your head and face!

Fall
On an
Out-
Stretched
Hand

We have all done it and thankfully we are usually able to protect ourselves without significant injury. Occasionally the FOOSHer ends up sacrificing certain body parts to protect other parts. Such falls can result in sprains, breaks and dislocations… A significant portion of upper extremity Orthopedic trauma and reconstruction can be traced to such injuries! Thought I’d introduce the subject and branch out to talk about specific fractures and dislocations of the wrist. I think we’ll start with Scaphoid fractures (one of the bones of the wrist, also known as the carpal navicular)…. easy to break and sometimes slow to heal! …then perhaps move on to even more complicated injuries of the wrist such as this extreme FOOSH!. – Greg Balourdas, MD

Also find me on Facebook: The Hand Doctor – Greg M. Balourdas, MD and my office site.

I just jammed my finger Doc

Greg Balourdas — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:01:43 +0000

Ok now that professional basketball season in underway.. I seem to be seeing an increase in “jammed” fingers. Probably just coincidence but when my son jammed his finger playing goalie it prompted me to start thinking about these injuries which do occur when flying spherical objects contact extended fingers as in “ball” sports (basketball, volleyball and soccer). I never fail to cringe when I see a patient who says there finger was jammed and crooked so they (or a teammate) pulled on it to straighten it! While this frequently works (there are a lot of jammed fingers out there that thankfully don’t make it to a surgeon’s office) when it doesn’t it can become a major problem. The joints of the fingers are actually quite complex and in delicate balance. One of the giants of Hand Surgery, J. Littler, called the extensor tendon function a “fugue of motion”, denoting a very complicated interaction of forces each dependent on the other to maintain balance and precise function.

Suffice to say that some these structure and certain injury patterns are very benign and heal without problem but others do not.
So look out the following “Red flags” that suggest problems may be lurking:
1. Obvious, even slight, persistent angulation or lack of finger extension (doesn’t stay straight)
2. Significant restriction in joint motion that does not improve over a few days.
3. Grating or clicking sensation with motion.
4. Pain that persists and if simple (“popsicle stick” splint) immobilization doesn’t give you relief.
5. Numbness or tingling in the fingertip.

By the way, Happy New Year and be careful out there!
- Greg Balourdas, MD

A little anatomy review:

Anatomy of the Tendons and Joints of the Finger

Complex and Wonderfully Made

Greg Balourdas — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:26:50 +0000

You don’t have to be a Hand Specialist to know that your hands are very important to you… but as a Hand Surgeon I do get a special appreciation for how complex and wonderfully made our hands are, and how much we take them for granted. If you’ve ever experienced an injury to your hands or arm that prevented their normal use you know what I mean. Our hands are the main way that we interact with our environment… work, play, blog and just about everything we do depends on the normal use of our hands. So be careful out there! I look forward to sharing my perspective and experiences on this an other related subjects.

- Greg Balourdas, MD