OT - Hand Surgery
 

I had a bad MTB crash 3 months ago, tore a scaphoid ligament (not the technical name) in my hand and now need surgery to repair it.

I've got experience with ACL reconstruction, but this is very different. Invasive surgery, pins, ~12 weeks in a cast, and 6-8 months of recovery. Anyone have a similar injury/surgery? What were your experiences? Recommendations?

I had a fracture in my right hand a few years ago. Used the opportunity to become half-assed ambidextrous. I enjoy my slightly above-average non-dominant hand every day.

Also, do your physical therapy.

Best of luck and recover quickly.

I had surgery on my scaphoid after a driver decided to make an unsignalled turn from the middle lane while looking at her phone while I was in a protected bike lane. Now I'm titanium enhanced. What do you want to know?

Did you rupture your scapholunate ligament ? That's different than a scaphoid fracture but it sounds like you know that.
You want to make sure your surgeon has done this repair numerous times or at minimum is a very experienced hand surgeon. It's an uncommon procedure and in the 2 times I've seen it done the rehab and recovery are long.

Hope it goes well.

If in fact it is the scapholunate ligament, it is a complex repair. I think there are a couple of different approaches, mine used a tendon harvested from my forearm. I am twelve years past mine (and a later TFCC repair) and I would say it was a success, the most noticeable effect is a reduced range of motion. One thing my surgeon told me was "Wrists aren't knees", but the alternative was fusion. The good news is the sooner you act, the better likelihood of a good outcome. Be patient, do your PT when you're out of the cast and good luck.

Yep, scapholunate ligament rupture. My doc has experience with these. I'm still going to get a second opinion from UW sports medicine.

PacNW2Ford, this is basically how the repair was described to me. Glad to hear recovery went well.

When I snapped my elbow, my PT was explicit about prospects for recovery: "Elbows are easy. Wrists...those are hard."

Best of luck. Do what the docs and therapists say, don't let the bad days get you too low or the good ones too high. One day at a time and all that...

Perfect, best of luck.

Did not have that injury, but managed to fracture the 4th metacarpal requiring surgery and 4 screws. Took about 6 weeks b4 I could get out of cast and start rehab and about 5 months before back on the mountain bike.

One thing that I want to warn about is adhesions, or whatever the technical term is, but scar tissue will try to attach itself where ever it can. For me, it was the skin on the palm, directly under the fracture which attached to some of the tendon or bone. So when I grip, as in shoveling or riding, the skin doesn't move in that spot (the attached spot) and is quite uncomfortable after a couple of hours into the ride. I've thought about going back in to have that corrected, however it may just re-attach.

So, point of this rambling is that as part of the OT and/or PT, be sure to do the rubbing of the skin to break up the micro adhesions before they become macro adhesions.

I have broken my scaphoid, the bone not ligament, twice on my right hand as was riding the afternnon that the cast was removed. My wife shattered the metacarpals and ligaments below her middle and index figure in a surfing accident. The Drs said that she would never use the hand again, then use would be limited, then she would have arthritis. Then 5 months rehad. Turned out after surgery and removal of the cast she was fine and didnt even need rehab.