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If you have had a proximal row carpectomy, hand surgery or if you are about to have surgery on your hand please feel free to leave a comment, questions or highlights of your experience here on this page. I’m not a Doctor so I cannot answer medical questions other than to pass on the information that I have read or have experienced through my surgery. If you are a surgeon, doctor or physiotherapist and have comments, please feel free to post them on our NEW Forum (click here).
So leave a comment, tell us your story and if you are surgeon please let us know about some of the latest techniques available for both the surgery and methods to expedite the recovery.
Proximal Row Carpectomy - PRC 
There are some great groups on Facebook for information from people who have this disease and we all share our stories and offer support. Keinbock Friends seems to be the most active group.
I am 58 years old and having the PRC done on October 7th. Not sure what to expect, just want to decrease the pain and be able to use my left hand. How long is one out of work after the procedure. I work at a computer a lot. Just wish i knew more.
Hi-
I’ll tell you what–I wouldn’t do anything. I had a PRC almost a year ago and I feel like I just traded one pain for another. Some days my pain hovers @ 7 on the pain scale. It can be as low as @ a 3 if I don’t use use i, but good luck with that since I’m left-handed (yes it’s my left hand). I can feel very sorry for myself if I have to fill out a form or want a steak. I was a Kienbock’s Disease Stage 4 patient so I had to do something, but I’m very disappointed in the results. The doctor had said I would lose strength (my hand flops around) but, again, I didn’t expect it would hurt so much. Right after the surgery, my doctor said he would’ve done a full fusion of he’s known how arthritic the wrist was (arthritis didn’t show on X-rays). Now he says a fusion will relieve the pain but I don’t believe it. I know 2 people who’ve had fusions and they both still have pain.
If you’re not in pain, then I say live with whatever your problem is. Of course, I don’t know how old you are. If you’re 20-something then you might heal better. I’m 61 but in pretty good shape (I’m a life-long distance runner.)
Again, I say leave it alone.
I am retired, an active senior in my early 70’s who is a serious tennis player and a biker. My ability to enjoy my passions are dramatically reduced by what is called Scapholunate Dissociation. My pains are almost continuous and my range of motion is at about 50% because of arthritis. I need help deciding between having Proximal Row Carpectomy or Four Corner Fusion surgery.
Please share with me your experience insights, experience and recommendations.
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Peter; Thanks for this site. It has been useful. I too will be getting PRC done in less than 2 weeks (in Australia). You have motivated me to document my own progress (purely so I can perhaps help others, just like you have). I have literaly only just created the blog site here: https://prc2016.wordpress.com
Currently I have updated it with the long history of my diagnosis. Once i undergo the procedure, the idea is that I will document that too, much like you have.
Regards
S
Update: I have postponed my surgery as I want some more advice/time to think.
Wondering what your thoughts are for getting PRC done (for those that have had it) for Volar Intercalated Segment Instability.
My non-dominant wrist is locked in a downward 20 deg angle after a fall from a ladder due to ligament damage and I need PRC or fusion to salvage. My pain is not much, 1 out of 10 sometimes, so life is not that bad. Strength is not great.
I have a desk job so this does not affect me that much work-wise.
Anyway given the above, I am reluctant to get the PRC done due to the ‘unknowns’ / bad things that could happen to make it worse; eg particularly worried about getting more pain (even 2/10 would put me in a worse position that what I currently have). Although the increased Range of Motion / Strength would be nice of course there’s no guarantees. I agree that for people with pain, it might be a no-brainer to get PRC/Fusion done, but for me I don’t have much pain so should I still do it, or just live with the hand being locked? Also if the PRC does give me pain, I guess I could go with fusion to stop pain?
Hello Michael Lum–I know your surgery is only 2 days away, so let me ask this up front: What are the consequences if you don’t have it? Are you in severe pain and/or is your wrist not working right? I ask because nothing is ever quite the same after surgery and sometimes you feel like you’ve traded one pain for another, though at your age I imagine you can get used to anything.
I had a PRC last May after years of my lunate dissolving due to advanced Keinboch’s disease. I finally had the surgery bc it was getting so bad that I felt nauseous all the time. It was literally living with a broken wrist and hand. I gotta say, I still can’t do much with that hand and it still hurts all the time, though I have moments when it’s not too bad. A lot of PRC patients have to go on pain management, which I don’t recommend. But–I am 61. A lot of my pain comes from arthritis that has set in. Maybe if you have the PRC now you can prevent that from happening? Also–the PRC is the most conservative of your surgical options. If it doesn’t work, you can still go back in and work your way through the other procedures all the way to a full fusion.
The PRC was chosen for me bc that procedure helps retain flexibility. I wanted to still play the piano and write, etc. (Keinboch’s is usually a dominant hand syndrome). I can sort of do those things but, like I said, it’s painful. Plus my hand it so flexible, it flops around. But again, I believe the difference in our ages will be a critical factor here.
The 40-yr-old man who has done carpentry work for us had a partial fusion last March. He originally injured his wrist riding motocross. Given his occupation, he needed to retain strength more than he needed flexibility. He recently did another job for us and he did fine. But he gives the procedure mixed reviews. He says he traded one pain for another (he might be on pain management–I didn’t want to ask) and he is slower. He is slow enough that he no longer gets union jobs because they want him to be able to put up so much drywall in an hour, etc., and he can’t do it. He still gets jobs independently because he’s good and most people don’t care if he takes a few extra hours. That said, I don’t imagine you face a career of working with your hands if you’re still in school at 25.
I wish I could give you more definitive info, but as you so eloquently put it, there are reasons for both hope and grief. The best thing you have going for you is that you’re ridiculously young. I believe you can recover from anything. You might even be able to grow a new hand.
Best, Karen
Hi all and thank you so much for contributing to this site.
Quick background:
I’m 25 male, student, athlete
I broke my right (dominate) scaphoid last may (2015), spent the whole summer being stoic and then had it checked out in august with news of a nonunion fracture. I had a procedure in september with a bone graph and pins with no success. The proximal side of my scaphoid is going through avascular necrousus and according to a catscan is pretty much dead.. Up until now I have spent all winter break seeing specialist and looking at any options. My wrist specialist here gave me the choices of no surgery, a PRC, a 4CF(four corner fusion), or full wrist fusion. He recommended a PRC and I am scheduled for surgery on thursday of this week. I am very nervous and anxoius as most people are when getting ready for surgery. I have spent much time on the internet doing research as I like to be informed on what is happening to my body. Your comments on this site have brought me hope and grief, as we all know these wrist issues have no simple answer and it can been very stressful. After going through all this while being a full time student I can say that I am fed up! At this point I’m ready to be on the road to recovery with a light at the end of the tunnel. I am hoping to return to enjoying the pleasures in my life such as surfing, guitar, riding my honda ascot, and mixed martial arts. I know ill never be the same again but if anyone has any support or suggestions on how they recovered and what to do or not to do it would be much appreciated. A lot of my collegues don’t understand what i’m going through so I have been dealing with this alone emotionally.
Thanks to everyone who is on here and had a PRC the support helps!
Hi Peter,
I am scheduled for PRC in Jan. I am a 59 yr old diesel mechanic & have been for 38 yrs. I was wondering what to expect after surgery. I take 2 naproxin a day to function. I find even driving is painful when you hit the bumps in the road. Feels like I’m being stabbed in the wrist. It’s difficult to work as I use my bad hand for everything. Any info would be appreciated.
Thank you, Jim Skuba
skoobyduck@gmail.com
Hi
My name is Mark Mooney 38 years old
just had a PRC last Thursday the 24th of September 2015 ( 3 days ago)
I race Motocross bikes and have young daughter . I raced at a high level at was in the middle of a British Championship over 35’s season . I love my motocross so my intension is to go back at it .My injury is related to a fall I had earlier this year .
do you know of any other stories similar to mine ? its quite a physical sport !
Cheers
Mark
Hey Mark. I hope this helps you a bit. I am 56 and had a PRC Dec 1,2014. I have followed my dr orders perfectly and all that he said has been true. My PRC was due to bone on bone pain, nothing left in the wrist (probably caused from a bad break many many years ago). I love riding a scooter to work and to town for errands. I wish/think I am Italian! Anyway, I have plenty of mobility in my right wrist for the throttle. I would think, thT, if you follow dr orders and do your daily exercises, you should not have any trouble going back to racing. Good luck!
Allison
Hi Kimberly- I had PRC surgery this May 2015 because my lunate had dissolved due to advanced Keinbock’s disease. I waited and waited to have the surgery because I’m getting older (I’m 61) and don’t want to mess with things anymore. But the pain was getting worse so I had to do it. The surgery was way more painful than I imagined. I was on painkillers until just a few weeks ago and could still take a few these days, to tell you the truth. But-yes I have lots of shifting/clicking/tapping/snapping, and other verb forms when I move or try to use my wrist. It sounds like the gears of an old kiddie ride that won’t start up. Writing is especially hard but I can do it. I can play octaves on the piano again and can lift weights again, though nothing that involves compression, like a bench press or push up. As for tennis–I think you can do anything you set your mind to, though it will take time. Your wrist will be a lot weaker. The main thing is this recovery is longer than other surgeries I’ve had. It’s not a 6 week-3 month thing. It’s more of a 6 months-1 year thing. If you’re impatient, like I am, you might have to change your thinking. Good luck-
Thanks, Karen. I am now five months post-surgery and went through Occupational Therapy. Strengthening exercises only aggravated my wrist so had to stop and move to isometric exercises instead. I cannot move it to the ulnar side without pain. This has been disappointing. I can play table tennis without pain and hope to try tennis but right now the thought is a bit daunting because of the discomfort. I am just going to give it time as my surgeon said that my pain might never be completely gone and it could take a year or more for it to feel better. My next step is a fusion but am hoping I can put that off for a few years. The shifting and clunking is disconcerting, isn’t it? I did not expect that side effect though it was happening even in the cast for eight weeks. I am able to function at work and at home quite well though even with the pain. I also have developed a second trigger finger in the same hand which doesn’t help with the healing. One shot and a splint will hopefully stave off a procedure or surgery. Best wishes to you and thanks for your feedback!
I had PRC Surgery four weeks ago (July 2015) and will be in a cast for a total of eight weeks due to some unexpected arthritis that was found. I had a failed scapholunate repair in December of 2014 along with a successful TFCC repair. Once the K wires were removed the gap between the scaphoid and lunate reappeared quickly thus the need for the PRC.. I am experiencing some shifting/clunking and wondered if anyone else felt this type of instability while healing even in the cast. It is also more painful than I expected. I had hoped to return to tennis but am thinking this is unlikely. Has anybody else returned to tennis after PRC Surgery? A fusion is likely sooner rather than later due to the arthritis progression. This started from a hard fall three years ago that did not hurt! Thank you.
Karen
Thank you for sharing your story. It is a little reassuring that it is possible to continue strength training.
I am 49. I was diagnosed with Keinbochs in my left wrist (non-dominant hand) about 12 years ago. I had really not given me problems until about a year ago. The last MRI shows the Keinbochs is ib stage IV and the lunate has started to fracture. I was also diagnosed with ulna impaction syndrome in May 2015.
I am into strength training, it’s part of who I am. It is one of my biggest concerns that I will have to give up some of those activities that are such a big part of me. I am considering the surgery but it wouldn’t be until January 2016. I think I am struggling with acceptance of this diagnosis. I seem to have more questions than answers right now. The biggest one being if I should do this or not. I keep asking myself if I hurt bad enough to do this. Once I start down this road there is no coming back.
Thanks again for sharing your story. This site is great, it’s so nice to hear the stories from others that are facing these same issues.
Hi George-Glad to hear you can lift all of that weight. I just had PRC surgery this May 15, 2015. I am back lifting again, sort of. But I was told I’d never again be able to do anything that involved compression, e.g., bench press, push up, etc. You can do these things?
Hi Karen, sorry for my late reaction. The surgery was more than 15 years ago and what I can remember is that it took me a year before I had regained my strength at benchpressing. At first it was almost impossible to benchpress the bare barbell. From time to time I experience some pain in my hand during the benchpress. Since 1 year I also do badminton. My right PRC hand is my dominant hand and sometimes my right wrist hurts for a couple of days. Sometimes the pain is such that I have to take NSAID (Diclofenac) pills because of the inflammation.
This is the one year post video: https://proximalrowcarpectomy.com/2014/07/27/one-year-later-watch-this-to-prepare-for-a-prc/
Peter I appreciate your video. It’s very specific and informative, which we more -recent PRC patients need. At Day 81, yes I can chop vegetables but only soft ones; i.e., peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes. It’s a little painful but I can do it. I cannot slice carrots. No way. But I am only at Day 81, and I see you chopping a carrot at Day 365. Also–to the women out there, I cannot blow dry my hair at Day 81. Even if I switch hands, I can’t hold the dryer or manipulate the round brush, so I have to let my hair air dry. Ok. Last weekend I tried to ride a bike (bicycle). I rode the bike 8 miles but that was all I could do because of the relentless vibrating. And I was on a smooth surface. But again, it’s only 81 days. On the bright side, my finger flexibility is great. It has been great since approx. Week 4. That might be because I am a piano player, don’t know. I can’t play a lot of octaves in a row yet, but I’m getting there. I can reach them, and that’s a start.
Oh, and I am able to chop vegetables again, that is, if I feel like cooking.
Did you get the idea to chop from my video? (LOL)
Hi Peter-no, I didn’t watch your video, but I will
Hi Daylene–Today is Aug 4, 2015. I had PRC surgery on my left hand May 15, 2015 because I had been living with progressively worsening pain from Kienboch’s Stage 3b, which turned out to be more like Stage 4 once he got in there. I am a lifetime distance runner and workout with weights 2-3 times a week. I am 61 which I hate to say because I think I’m 16. But I imagine age affects how easily and quickly a person heals. You don’t say how old you are but if you are used to working out with kettlebells then you are doing your best to minimize the effects of aging.
People always say how different everyone is, how everyone’s healing process is different, etc., which I suppose is true and important to keep in mind, but still. You need to have some kind of idea what you are in for.
The first two weeks I had some bad pain. Seriously. I got through it, but I’m just saying. Some people say they have little pain and maybe you’ll be one of them. I hope so, though none of my doctors or hand therapists seemed surprised that I had so much, so–I don’t know.
Right around the end of two weeks I was able to run without my hand/arm throbbing too much. Of course I was on painkillers and it probably wasn’t a pretty sight (ha!) but I never had good form, so who cares. About 4 weeks post-op, I was able to do planks on my left side (as well as the middle and right). You might wonder how planks affect your hand but remember there’s all that throbbing to consider. I was also able to do leg extensions and hamstring curls at about 4 weeks post op. Remember when you’re on those machines, you’re holding on and there’s some stress on the hands/wrist, so that is why that took so long.
At 6 weeks I could do lat pulls but only with 30 lbs. (I used to work with 60 lbs.) Last week I was up to 50 lbs but yesterday I had drop back to 40 on the lat pull. I am able to do pecs with 30 lbs and military press with free weights, only 6 lbs. Again, last week I was up to 8 but yesterday had to drop back to 6. (I used to work with 12 lbs on that military press with free weights.)
I am not quite 12 weeks post-surgery now and am just finishing my second (and last?) round of hand therapy. I still cannot do a bench press. My hand therapist says the bench press or anything that causes compression is the last thing I will be able to do. Indeed, food shopping, i.e., pushing that cart around, is the hardest thing I do. That and writing, signing my name. Maybe you are also left-handed since Kienboch’s is a dominant-hand disease. At 12 weeks, I am almost back to the amount of pain I had before the surgery but I can feel it getting better and better.
I don’t work out with kettlebells but you can use the above info to approximate the kinds of movements you might be able to do and when. Again, if you are younger than 61 and don’t have arthritis to consider, your healing will no doubt be quicker. Good luck. This site is a big, big help. Karen
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is great to have the perspective of someone that has gone through this. The information here is great and more helpful than all the medical studies. I have keinbochs disease and ulna impaction syndrome in my left wrist and my doctor is recommending a PRC.I am just looking for information so I can make an educated decision on whether or not to have the surgery. I train with kettlebells and am concerned it may not be an option after the surgery. Have you or have you come across anyone that has had this procedure and been able to continue with any kind of strength training?
Cheers!
Today is August 1, 2015. I had a PRC on December 1, 2014. I am happy to say that I definitely made the right decision. I had bone spurs, arthritis, a ganglion cyst, and bone on bone pain. Today, the only pain I have is when I work too hard. Last weekend, ignited window trim and baseboards. It was not a challenge and there was NO PAIN . It was great.i always wonder if I can accomplish the next challenge, and I always do. The PRC has been a blessing.
I had PRC surgery about one month ago. I am 72 years old. I have no pain now and most of the swelling is gone. I cannot make a closed fist yet, but I am about 95% there. My signature is shakey, but legible. I am optimistic that I will gain back most of the flexibility and strength.
Larry,
I am 72 also and have just been given the PRC vs 4 corner choice. Snapped the ligament in a tennis game years ago and now it is really painful. How long were you out of commission after the surgery? I am a university professor/researcher and am worried about it impacting my lectures and preparation.
Do you have good use of your wrist now, without pain?
I dream of playing tennis again. Have been a jogger for 50 years so in good shape otherwise.
I think it was almost a year before I could grasp objects tightly and have no pain at all. I turned 75 in September. I now feel my grip and strength in the hand that was operated on is as strong as my other hand. I lift weights, throw baseballs and footballs without any pain whatsoever. I hope you have the same results. I suggest you practice trying to grip a pencil daily. I did that. Also, recently I elected to have the Birmingham procedure on my right hip because of arthritis during my daily running routine. I noticed during my physical therapy that WellStar has a special machine for hand surgery patients. Physical therapy has done wonders for my hip surgery. Perhaps insurance covered physical therapy for your hand should be looked into.
Hi and thank you so much, you’ve answered a lot of questions for me. I have osteoarthritis mainly due to being hypermobile I’m 48 and have already had six surgeries on my hands. One part fusion of my left wrist and subsequent removal of staples, which then failed two years later. Two failed fusions of my right wrist and removal of hardware and finally a full fusion which a year on hasn’t quite fused. It’s painful as I have a snapped screw and bone growing over rather than under the plate. Because of failures due to bone healing I’m having a prc in July of the left wrist rather than a full fusion having lost the functionality of my right wrist this op is last ditch attempt to keep some movement of my left hand. I’m lucky to have found your blog the videos, information and detail have helped so much.
Today is Monday June 1st. I went to a hand specialist on Friday and he recommended PRC surgery on my right wrist. I broke my wrist 36 years ago when I was 19. I was in a snowmobile accident. 3 years ago it started bothering me. I had a screw placed in the scaphoid bone and grafting from the radius. It didn’t take and the screw is coming out. I’m in constant pain and I am losing my ability to write, grip and bend with my wrist the way it is. The Dr first recommended the four corner fusion but half way through the exam he suggested PRC instead. The pain and agony from the first surgery has me freaked about what I have to go through again! I am a lab tech and use my hands for delicate and finite movements with no room for error. I don’t know how this will effect my ability to do my job. I live alone and not sure how I will manage at home. The mental stress having your dominate hand immobilized for 12 weeks was beyond description that is why I shyed away from the four corner fusion. I would appreciate any comments and I sincerely wish everyone a speedy recovery!!
I think that I could do delicate lab work with my hand. I sort of do tinkering with the Motorcycles and that often involves working with tiny bolts, springs and such. Infinite movement may be an issue. With respect to fingers and such, no problem but wrist bending may hinder you slightly. But often the body has its own work around such as how I throttle a motorcycle. My elbows and arms do much of the work. I can write but not for too long. Typing is not an issue. Normally the recovery time of a PRC is much quicker and less painful that a Fusion.
Hi Allison and thanks for your reply. I had my first post-op doctor visit today and he said I am doing quite well for Day 13. I knew my fingers were doing well–they are quite flexible considering I’m only 2 weeks out. They are flexible in terms of being able to move them around but that doesn’t mean I can do anything with them. The swelling has gone down a bit though my hand and fingers are still pretty swollen. The main thing is this pain. He told me to give in and take the pain pills, which I really don’t want to do, but I can’t bear it otherwise, so I guess I’ll just take a pill every 4 hours and not wait until I need it. But then–how will I know when I’m just taking a pill and don’t really need it anymore? Again–maybe the pain is so bad because I had this condition so long? (30+ years) I don’t know. Another question: Did your skin peel off? My fingers look like they have some kind of rot. Gross!
Oh,you are funny, Karen. It is good to keep a sense of humor. Yes, my skin peeled off like it was rotten. After wearing a hard cast for 4 weeks, after the soft cast, my hand smelled bad too. It would get a little wet, and that along with the skin really smelled. I used something from my natural food store that they recommended for swelling. If you are interested, I can look it up. I felt like if I could get the swelling to go down quicker, then maybe the skin peeling would not be so bad. I don’t know if it made a difference or not. Keeping moving those fingers!
Today is April 30, 2015. I had my PRC Dec 1, 2014. So, 5 months, post op, and I have no pain. It is great. My wrist movement is still a bit limited, but no pain is wonderful. Still, I find things daily that I CAN DO ! I work in an office. It was difficult using my computer mouse with my left hand for a few months. Even tho,I am left handed, this was a chore. The surgery was on my right wrist. Today, I use my mouse right handed with no issues. I can use the stapler and calculator with no problems. This may seem minuscule to some, but for a post PRC person, this is a giant step forward. I do daily exercises and it really makes a difference. My surgeon said not to rush Mother Nature. He was right.
Allison
Good luck Michael. Like the Doc said “do your exercises” 4.5 months post op and man my hand feels great! 40 years of pain is now gone. That pain was causing an underlying stress I am now free of. Like having a weight taken off my shoulders. Still some stiffness in the fingers and I don’t have the range of motion my other hand has, but no pain. Still doing the exercises and slowly the range of motion in the wrist and fingers is increasing. Lars
Today is april20 2015
I had a proximal row carpectomy done 5 days ago . I decided it was the best for me due to I still would like to have some movement of wrist unlike the fusion where wrist is locked in place I broke my schaphoid in the military and basically ignored it for 6 months until I had a car accident and diff more damage to my hand during that surgery the Dr noticed it was broken and attempted a repair using a bone from my hip but that never healed so I had a nonunion of the schaphoid the first day after surgery had a nerve block so pain was non existent after nerve block wore off pain and discomfort were taken care by taking the medicine I was prescribed my first occupational therapy appointment was done 1day after surgery removed bandages and made a custom splint I have another appointment on Tuesday to remove stitches and begin movement I have found that using my playstion and playing video games has helped gain the use back of my thumb and fingers take a pain pill and play a game to remove the soreness it does help I hope this helps I have been reading this forum since surgery was decided to be done and a PRC was an option I will write more later Thank you and good luck to all
3.5 mo. post op. The hand is definitely better. I still get periodic pains in my fingers, knuckles, and a bit in the wrist if I over work it. Fingers are still swollen. Can’t quite make a tight fist nor do my fingers straighten completely out. Strength is less than half of the left hand. Having said all that I can pretty much do everything I need to do. Chained sawed down a tree this weekend. Pulled the cord on the lawn mower no problem. Did a bunch of digging. Didn’t suffer any consequences. Lars
Megan, I had a plaster cast for 2 1/2 weeks, then a fiberglass cast with thumb spica for 4 weeks, It came off 2 days ago. now a split with thumb spica for the next month. I had a lot of pain for the first two weeks ice cold presses helped alot. I just started therapy. My wrist is very weak, very stiff, fragile and sore especially the thumb when I move it too much. At rest it feels pretty good just a background light throb. Therapist said to not push the exercises to the point of pain. I have very little movement in my wrist, I would say it is hardly any. The therapist was encouraged by how much I had. My fingers and wrist are still swollen. After the op. I swear my fingers and knuckles looked like they belonged to a cartoon character whose hand had just been run over by a truck felt like it too. Your experience sounds parallel to mine. The doctors aid said the tendons can be very sore somewhat like tendonitis hence the stretching exercises. I found if I massage my fingers and wrist it helps alleviate the pain, helps loosen things up and reduces swelling. I do this about 1-2 hours a day while watching tv and before and after exercises. Prior to doing the exercises, per the therapist, I warm my hand up. This really helps. Hard to see the day when the hand will move painlessly. Each week I do see and feel improvement, just so so slowly. Good luck, Lars
a little shy of two months since my PRC. It was honestly horrible in the beginning. This is the third procedure on my wrist and the pain after the surgery was horrific. I had extreme swelling. 2 weeks post op I went and the doctor put a cast on for three weeks. I now have a removable splint that I have to wear for a month now. I started therapy and it’s been extremely painful. I constantly feel stiff and since the removal of the cast I have had numbness in my thumb (my therapist says it’s the start of carpal) as for my mobility I am working on it but still in so much pain. Is this common? Thank you all.
Best of luck Lars.
Auntally-Congrats! No pain, sounds like bliss. Mine comes off in 2 weeks 2 days, hope I can say the same. I have suffered with pain for 40 years. Presently the original pain is gone with the bad bone removal, replaced by the post operative pain which is fading. My fingers are crossed. Lars
Jan 13, 2015. My hard cast came off today! After 6 weeks, Yea! My wrist is very stiff. I am to wear a removable splint for 6 weeks. I am only supposed to remove it to shower and to do my exercises which are 3 times daily. My wrist is very stiff. I can make a loose fist. I can move my wrist in all directions except towards my thumb, which is where I was experiencing the most pain pre surgery. There is absolutely no pain in my wrist. I am amazed. For 6 weeks, I am to slowly make a fist. Eventually I think I will be able to make a hard fist. I also am to rotate my wrist in small circles, each direction. These are exercises I need to do 3 times daily. Parts of my wrist are numb, but I think the feeling will return. The scar on top of my arm is also numb. My surgeon said the feeling will return. After my hard cast was removed, part of my palm, at the bottom, was numb, but after a few hours, the feeling has returned. I am thrilled with the PRC. I have posted pics of the original scar and 6 weeks post op. The healing is remarkable. My nurse said continued massing with any lotions will reduce the scar. It is not too noticeable already.
Lars, thanks for the info on doing too much. I go Tues Jan 13 to hopefully get my hard cast off and a splint for along while.
Continuing my PRC saga. Last Fri.(after 2.5 weeks) I had my cast removed, xrays taken and a new fiberglass cast installed that wraps my thumb. The wrist was extremely weak, my arm had shrivelled alot, the physical therapist stated it would shrink some more. Apparently there is a micro fracture in the capitate bone as well as some bone/cartilage grafting that will require I have the cast for 4 more weeks. Was hoping to be free of it. The pain now after 3 weeks is pretty minimal. There is still some slight swelling in the fingers. Auntally, I was also concerned about injuring my wrist from doing too much. The physical therapist said it would take a serious wrenching to do any damage or cause a dislocation. The pain is probably the exercise limiting factor, which will probably prevent injury. You will want to confirm this with your doctor. Peter, I also want to thank you for this blog. Misery loves company! Good to hear others have had similar experiences. Lars
Your welcome. Today I did my first Yoga class since the surgery. Funny enough, my PRC hand is shorter so in the downward dog position I use a fist on that hand and an open palm on the other and I am perfectly balanced. Go figure?
Hi Peter. This blog is wonderful. I had a PRC Dec 1 and had no idea what to expect until I read your comments. I had no surprises. I had quite a bit of swelling in my fingers and moving them as much as possible is the key to recovery. I have had the hard cast for almost 3 weeks and I see that I have worn the fiberglass smooth from my repeated finger bending and squeezing! I also have concentrated on keeping my hand elevated as much as possible so it does not throb. I can sleep normally now, but at first, it was necessary to elevate my arm. I wedged it between pillows as you have suggested and it worked very well. After my hard cast comes off, hopefully Jan, 13, I will have some sort of splint. What kind of therapy should I expect? Can I injure my wrist by trying too hard? I plan on recovering most if not all of my wrist movement and strength. Yes, I am an optimist!
Hello Peter, I also have a Bemmer 1972 r75/5 “toaster”. How long until you were able to squeeze the brake and spin the throttle?
I will post an article on riding, stay tuned
Dec. 21st. Just over 6 days. Haven’t taken any painkillers. Hardly any pain. The swelling in the fingers has gone down considerably and is decreasing around the knuckles. The blue/green coloring on the top of my fingers is almost gone. I can use my fingers, strength is increasing. I flex and streach my fingers and wiggle the wrist slightly within the confines of the cast. Forgot to mention that on the 18th I had a bad reaction to the oxycotin, after taking 8 1/2 over a 48 hour period I came down with severe shakes. Felt real bad. I quit them and recovered. I had heard such good things and was looking forward to a pleasant high. All I experienced was some pain relief, mild stupidity, anxiety, and constipation. I will give them away as xmas stocking stuffers. (just joking).
The surgeons seem to prefer those drugs and they cause constipation because they relax the intestines so they do not push the waste out and then your body absorbs all of the fluids. I went to my family doctor 3-days after and she prescribed me RAN-TRAMADOL/ACET 37.5 & 32 mg. I preferred this drug and it did not cause so much constipation.
19 th today. Peter, you are right it is getting better. I can move my fingers and an advil will suppress the pain. unfortunately I suffered a quadrouple wammy and got the flu. Also had irratic heart beat that took my pressure to 80 over 53. and a sever case of post surgery nausea. I think the heart and nausea were operation related. The good: heart is back to 120/70. The nausea suppressed with the little wonder pill I had forgot they had given me to take. Now, the flu remedy-couch and TV.
Yep. Time is the best healer in most cases. A PRC is a terrible thing but sometimes there are many worse things. I just lost a good friend at 38 Years old. He had a heart attack in his sleep. Suddenly my hand is not such a big issue. I am certain that you will recover nicely in time. I had Netflix and zipped through so many series it wasn’t even funny. If you get onto a good one, time fly’s…
ok just had the op. on mon. the 15th dec. ’14 today is the 17th. hurts. dont like percoset but it dues relieve most 90% of the pain only take it when the pain gets bad. swelling is bad and occasionally my fingers begin to turn blue. i raise my arm above my head and in about 20 min. it goes away. cant do much but watch tv and feel spaced out. the pain is a heavy deep throb. ice pack is a great relief i have been doing it about 6 times a day. gonna take another percoset and watch tv keeping the hand raised.
Done that – it gets better😞
Peter, this blog is awesome!! I have my PRC scheduled for January 16th and my doctor is extremely confident that this procedure is a piece of cake and I will feel much less pain in my wrist and especially around the base of the thumb. I have read over your most recent time line that came out today, over and over. Thanks again
Good luck on January 16th 🙂 Keep us informed.
Hi there,thank you for the posting, I In January and tore the cartiledge off my lunate,I had orthroscopic surgery for debriedment with no pain relief, I have had three doctors opinions all the same proximal carpectomy,however one doc says try everything first from acupuncture to pycotherepy and evan suggested drinking apple cider vinegar and water ( an old remedy,) I am young 51 and active and worry about long term effects of not doing the surgery with day to day pain that consumes you., I don’t drink or take drugs.. Losing 50% of my motion seems difficult but with the pain I have now, I don’t even have 50 %. Motion. Your site has helped me understand a bit more of what to expect,thank you.
I’m in the U.S.
I too have a tough situation with my wrists. I ruptured the scapholunate ligament many years ago now, but it was misdiagnosed. Now I have arthritis in both, and as a result surgeons are telling me I only have the option of a PRC or 4CF. However, I’ve read about a Dr. Tang doing cartilage grafting in the wrist http://nyp.org/news/hospital/surgical-wrist-arthritis.html and also about a study in which rib cartilage was transplanted in the wrist with long-term success in a number of patients http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24436822. Does anyone here know more about these procedures?
Does anyone here know of a good way to find the wrist surgeons in the country? I’ve obviously tried google searching, and I’ve some lists, but with uncertain methodology. If I do have to get one of these fairly complicated and tricky procedures done, I want to try to find the best and most experienced surgeon out there.
What Country?
Carolina Sports Medicine, Dr. Thompson is awesome. Asheville, NC
I was going to have my prc surgery this month. Last July I had a cardiac stent implanted and needed to take Effient for one year. Surgeon wouldn’t operate until I was done with the drug. Well at the end of June, I needed 4 more cardiac stents so I’m back on the Effient for another year. The cardiologist won’t approve my going off of it. So I’m planning to meet with ortho guy and ask for the best non surgical solution. I hope this makes sense to the readers. Any thoughts?
Just want to share what my OT told me to do for swelling. It’s worked like a charm. If you have a double sink, fill one with water as hot as you can stand and the other with ice water. Plunge your wrist fully submerged into the hot water for 40 seconds, working your hand and wrist constantly. Then plunge into ice water for 20 seconds and don’t move your hand. Repeat a total of 10 times, three to six times a day. This has been marvelous for my wrist swelling. Five and a half weeks in, I’m still a bit impatient, not driving yet because can’t grip the wheel, but it’s coming along. The surgeon warned me it could be up to 12 weeks. I can’t wait. Hang in there all those just starting this process. It is a long, frustrating and often painful trip but so far so good. If I had not done this, my wrist would be toast anyway.
Dianne
My name is Randy Reynolds, I am 58 years old & have been a carpenter for over 40 years, I will be having the PRC surgery in two weeks. Found this website to be the most helpful in what to expect. I am not exactly sure of my condition in the wrist for much of it seems technical in Dr. terms. was told ( CT results show arthritis is more advanced than it appeared on X Ray.) Just want to say hello and will post questions as I reed more. Thanks for your website. Randy
Welcome to the hinged wrist club! I sincerely hope that all goes well with your surgery and that you are up and about as quickly as possible. What was the reason for the PRC?
Peter,
Maybe this will help and maybe it won’t but I think it is worth trying. You say you have swelling in your fingers still after 4 months. Logically thinking, swelling is inflammation and something is causing the inflammation. You need to do something to prevent the inflammation.
And that something is your diet. This may not make sense to you but I know diet is the culprit causing inflammation in the body. I know this because I have carpal tunnel in both hands and my surgeon wanted to do surgery to relieve the carpal tunnel. I said no to surgery.
I talked to my daughter about this subject and she said that inflammation in the body (which causes carpal tunnel, arthritis, asthma and a host of other nasties) is caused by the foods that we eat. The foods that cause inflammation are refined sugar, anything with flour, grains, of all kinds including oatmeal, dairy (all forms), caffeine and meat. One can eat meat just very little per day. Non inflammatory foods are fruits, eggs and vegetables. Please eat eggs from free range chickens.
I honestly did not believe that eating a non inflammatory diet would help my carpal tunnel. Neither did my surgeon but of course he would say that. If he started promoting a non inflammatory diet for carpal tunnel, he would be out of business.
So, to test this theory I cut out all refined sugar, coffee and anything with flour cold turkey 3 weeks ago. I lost 10lbs and my carpal tunnel has been reduced to only slight tingling in the fingers once in a while. Very mild compared to what I had before. When I was working on something before my new diet, I had to stop, drop my hands down for a few minutes and resume the activity and then do it again. Very frustrating.
So, anyone who does not believe that diet causes inflammation that causes a host of ailments, should rethink this. It really works.
Maybe the non inflammatory diet will work for your swelling? If you stop eating the inflammatory foods cold turkey you will experience flu like symptoms and fatigue but that will last only 4 days or so. After that, you will feel great. I recommend cold turkey and not gradual.
Hope this helps.
Barb
You are right. I do not eat sugar or wheat but the damn chocolates came into the house a few days ago for Halloween and I did have some. Additionally, I was busy and did not have my green smoothie for lunch and we ran out of wheat grass a few days ago. So you are correct. I bet that once I am back on track (today) the swelling will begin to go away.
It is the end of day 11 post op and tonight I am having a burning type pain on the top of my Han right above the knuckles that are under the bandwagon. The middle knuckle is still quite tender. I woke with some mild swelling in the wrist this morning as the soft casting material felt tighter than it was the day before. Keeping it elevated all day seems to have fixed it. Guess I did too much with the new puppy yesterday, lesson learned!! I am so glad I go back for my follow up Thursday, I am so ready to scratch all the itches on my arm!
I’ve made it through week one post op! I am down to taking pain meds in the morning after I wake up and before bed. Not quite sure why but the wrist is painful when I first wake up. The gorilla knuckles are gone!!! Such a simple thing but I am glad to have normal looking fingers sticking out of the end of this monstrous soft cast.
I can now move the fingers of the left hand freely, there is some discomfort at times and I take that as my cue to stop for now. Most of the thumb is bandaged into the soft cast so I have no idea what motion I have there. I am still sleeping a lot although since surgery I have not slept through the night. That is the next milestone I am hoping to meet.
I think my biggest worry now is having the soft cast removed and having serious pain in the wrist as they manipulate things while putting the fiberglass cast on. I don’t want to experience pain anywhere near like what I had the first few days after surgery again.
Will try to update you again once the new cast is on, I am sure you are getting tired of my ramblings on here every few days.
I think the fact that you have finger movement is great! I think that you will not have the issues that I had with my fingers. However I had only one half cast that was put on when I was under after the surgery. It stayed on for 2 1/2 weeks then removed for a brace. The wrist did not hurt after the two weeks. It felt very weak and absolutely needed 100 % support/ I had to hold my hand up when putting on the brace. It was my fingers that were the issue, specifically my thumb.
Thanks, ________________________
Peter Sanderson Peter.Sanderson@outlook.com
Home: (613) 933-3055 Work: (613) 577-4417 ________________________
Effective September 28, 2012 – Please update your records to change my personal e-mail from peterpq3@hotmail.com to peter.sanderson@outlook.com – Thank You ☺
Today makes it 3 months since my surgery. Around a month ago, I was visiting an orthopedic doctor concerning my foot (he is the same doctor that I had originally seen about my wrist and when the MRI showed the schapoid dead and ligament missing he refered me to the hand surgeon) and he asked me about my wrist. Specifically he asked if my wrist felt better now compared to how it felt before the surgery. That struck me as an odd question to be asked only having had the surgery 2 months prior. My answer was that it was all different…it wasn’t an apples to apples comparison. The fact that he asked me the question only 2 months after the surgery made me wonder just how much he knew (or didn’t now) about PRCs and the recovery process. And at the same time, I had to admit to myself that I was not better off after the PRC compared to prior to the surgery. Prior to the surgery, my wrist hurt and was restricting me from doing things but I could still muscle out a full range of motion if I cared to. But I also knew that without surgery, my wrist was only going to be getting worse.
Now at the 3 month point, I think I can say that my wrist is better than it was prior to the surgery. I have the decreased range of motion and I’m learning to deal with that. But I am having short periods (very short periods) of time where I’m doing stuff with my hands and I forget that I have a surgically altered wrist. I’m doing things now with my left hand that definitely caused me more problems prior to the surgery. I went bicyclling this weekend, which might not sound like a ‘wrist’ kind of thing but I was leaning forward on the handle bars for about 1.5 hours. I have to position my left hand a little different to get the angles right. I didn’t wear a brace, but I taped up my wrist. I haven’t gone golfing yet, but I’m swinging a golf club in the back yard and there is very little discomfort and most of the discomfort seems to be along the thumb. Mentally, that doesn’t bother me as much as discomfort in the wrist. If I swing the club left handed, I don’t have any discomfort in my left wrist. So, right now I have made it a goal to try and develop a left handed golf swing over the next 2 years (I find that I can reach an acceptable level of mediocrity in most things I try to do). I think the only reason I have for that is to take some of the stress off my left wrist while golfing and decrease the chances of eventually having a fused wrist at some point in the future. At some point in the next 2 weeks, I’m going to go out and play an actual round of golf (swinging right handed).
My next follow up appointment with the surgeon is in 6 months. The last time I went to physical thereapy was a month ago. I don’t follow any strict exercise regimen. I test out my range of motion and see where the bounderies are in regards to discomfort. My range of motion when I make a fist has been greater than when I have my hand open. I have been working on getting the same range of motion with an open hand as I do with closed fist. And they are about the same now. During that process, I noticed that when my hand is open and I rotate it back I have some tightness at the base of my palm (that meaty part by the thumb). Not sure what that is about but I do try to excersie that out. It has improved some, but still has some room for improvement. I wonder if that is the result of some type of atrophy. During the day, my fingers and finger joints feel fine, but when I wake up in the morning, they are a little stiff. I open and close my hand a couple times and that stiffness goes away. I’m hoping that over the next couple months, my left wrist gets to the point where I don’t really think about it at all.
I am now starting day 4 after my PRC. The pain from the surgery is well under control but the swelling is driving me insane! I feel like my fingers are about to burst. The soft cast they have me in for now isn’t too tight and blood flow to finger tips is fine. I know swelling is to be expected but I didn’t think I would have what we are affectionately calling gorilla knuckles lol.
I go back to the surgeon on day 14 to have the hard cast put on and will be in that for 3 weeks. No stitches to be removed as he used dissolving sutures.
I can’t belie how difficult it is to find a comfortable sleeping position right now. I hate this being basically helpless and am ready to get back to my life of taking care of hubby and training my dogs.
I know it will come in time and hubby is very supportive in helping me with pretty much everything from washing the dishes to helping me wash my hair. I would be happier if I could use my fingers I think.
How long did you or are you still doing physical therapy and how often do/did you go? I try to at least wiggle my fingers around a few times a day right now.
Oh the doc said the bone that had the cyst in it was pretty soft… I guess a soft bone is a bad thing so we made the right decisions to have this surgery.
I think everyone is different and you do your exercises and physiotherapy until you fell that you have reached a level of satisfaction. I still do my exercises because after the swelling goes, I got stiffness. I heard that you can get this in your fingers after many different types of surgery including rotator cuff. It is now 4 months after surgery and I can do many things and do not have much pain except for the stiffness and soreness in my fingers from exercising. I am very stiff when I wake up and then after stretching and working them (20 minutes) they seem to work. In fact, it is 1-hour after I am awake and I am typing this to you using my fingers (or as many as I used prior to the surgery).
I can now wash dishes (although not my favorite thing), wash my hair (all 0.2 cm of it), cook, shift gears in my Fiat Abarth (very important) but the most important thing for me I can still not do. I do not have the grip strength to ride my motorcycle and use the front brakes. I seem to have an issue with my thumb that is stiff and still a bit swollen. I am scheduled for an MRI to follow-up and see exactly what is happening.
As for sleeping, here is what worked for me (right hand surgery). I put one pillow next to me on the right side smushed up then another pillow angled on that pillow to make a 45 degree angle so that my hand would be higher than my heart (drain the swelling). Additionally I put a pillow propped up the right side leaning against the back board also at about a 45 degree angle. This way I could move my arm to be propped up from leaning frontwards and then backwards just so that it is different and there is some movement that works. I am not a back sleeper so that took much time to get used to. Luckily I had a new I-Comfort foam mattress and I believe this was very helpful, especially for back sleeping.
My surgeon stressed that after the cast is off to keep your hand up as much as possible. This will start to hurt your shoulders. If you have insurance, get ready to have some massages once or twice a week for your shoulder to relieve the knots.
Keep an eye on the cast and go back if you think it is too tight. Also, please check back periodically and let us know your progress.
Christy, I had to sleep on my back for a while after my PRC. I was most comfortable using pillows to keep my arm straight up, bent at the elbow. For a short while, any time my arm bent downward, it would throb. So I just used pillows to sleep with it up. I am now 6 months post op and no problems. I do exercises daily. Making a fist and then stretch the fingers out as much as possible.i use my hand as much as possible but if I think I may stress it, I still use my brace.
I am facing PRC in about 16 days. Roughly 16 years ago I broke my Scaphiod bone and was in a cast for 3 months. We thought everything healed fine until I started having pain in the left wrist again. X-rays showed no new fractures so I was sent for a bone scan. They found a cyst in the Lunate bone but were unable to determine if it was a simple bone cyst or a degenerative bone cyst. So off and on over the next several years I would go in and be put in a cast for 2 weeks of forced rest when it would act up and cause pain and loss of function of the hand and wrist.
It is now to the point the pain is almost constant and new MRI imaging shows the cyst has gown quite large. I was sent to see an orthopedic hand surgeon. He informed me that it is in fact a degenerative cyst in the Lunate bone located right next to the bone wall.
I was given 3 options. 2 of which he said would probably not have a high success rate with where the cyst is located in the bone. He could not guarantee I would not be back to see him in 6 months with the same problems with the fusion or the treatment with a heated probe inserted into the bone.
He told me what most likely happened is when I fractured my Scaphoid, I probably had damaged the ligament located between the Schapoid and Lunate bone which in turn somehow managed to cause this cyst to develop. I was told PRC was my best option to relieve the pain and to salvage most of my wrist function.. without this surgery I would be looking at one day losing all hand function when the Lunate bone finally shattered due to the cyst breaking thru the bone wall.
I have a general idea of what to expect but am unsure of exactly how long I will not be allowed to use my hand or wrist at all after the surgery.
I’ve learned one thing after having a PRC. That is everybody is different. The reason they are having the PRC, surgical approach, and how the body reacts to surgery is all different. I’m not a Doctor and I can only tell you what has happened to me. I had something similar and actually fractured my lunate bone which caused me to have the PRC. It is now 2 1/2 months after my surgery and I’m doing most things with my wrist. Obviously it does not have the same range of motion since it is basically converting complex joint into a hinge. I still have issues with my fingers that are stiff which means my strength in gripping things is much weaker than before. I am told this will take time and exercise to regain. In my case my goal is to ride my motorcycle again and I tried it yesterday. I was able to manage the throttle sufficiently well but it didn’t mean leveraging my arm a bit up and down. However because of my weak grip strength, I did not feel safe with the front brakes. In my case the first month and a half was the worst and I had problems with my fingers. If you read many of the comments on this blog you will find that that is not always the case and that in some cases people are up and using their fingers within a week or two. Given your particular situation and what you have explained, I guess you have no choice but to have a PRC. One reader put it quite accurately: “you do not choose the PRC, the PRC chooses you”.
I will soon have a section with questions and answers and my Doctor who runs a teaching hospital has agreed to answer some of them every week. Of course they will not be able to answer diagnostic questions that only general questions about a PRC. Check back in a week…
I wish you good luck and I hope that you are in the top 30% that has no or little pain or recovery issues.
Peter, thank you for creating this blog. It is very helpful to those of us like you who had no idea what a PRC was. I had a fusion of my lunate and triquetrum on May 1 and had previously had my scaphoid lunate ligament repaired. My next step is the PRC and unfortunately it looks like its going to happen as the fusion appears to be a non union after 15 weeks. I know every case is different, but I was wondering what your thoughts were on being able to return to an active status after PRC? I am still relatively young (late 30’s) and typically active in sports, and entertaining my three young children. Any advice or information you or your followers might have would be helpful and greatly appreciated.
Hi,
I just made a post that perhaps will address some of your questions and I’m hoping that other people who are further along the process would also be able to send you some information.
I think if the PRC is successful and performed properly that you will be able to play with your kids and do most things that you did before. The biggest problem will be getting through the procedure and recovery stage the exercises and physiotherapy are important and they take over your life for what I imagine to be 3 to 4 months. I wish you luck with your PRC and all I can say is stay positive!
Day one begins today! I am checking to see if your site works and how it works. PRC Procedure at 3:30.
Having a PRC is certainly not one of the most pleasant things that life has to offer. However, the minute you have this procedure is the minute you begin to heal. I totally understand the relentless pain in your hand and wrist and how you must not look forward to having an operation. But the sooner you have it the sooner you will start on the road towards recovery. I have read many websites on this and it seems like 35% or more have little or no pain after the PRC and are fairly functional. I would recommend that you have the surgery performed by a hand specialist, micro surgeon who performs hand surgery on a regular basis as opposed to an orthopedic surgeon who may only do one or two of these procedures per year. If you’re in Canada I would suggest you contact the hand clinic in Toronto and if you’re in the US I would suggest you go to Louisville Kentucky where they seem to specialize in these type of operations for the hand. However I’m certain there are many amazing hand surgeons throughout the US and Canada that I am just not aware of. There is pain after the surgery and it does go away slowly. There are different procedures and different approaches after the surgery. For example in my case I woke up after surgery with a cast on and as my wrist and hand swelled it seemed to push the swelling up to my fingers which is really one of the major problems I have at the moment. I really never had severe pain in my wrist at all. It is now sixty days after the surgery and my wrist feels good although it will ache slightly at the end of the day but it is my fingers that are stiff and sore. I have good days and bad days with my fingers and I’ve spoken to many people who have had wrist surgery and/or broken/fractured wrists and many of them go through this because of the cast. With broken wrist there in a cast for eight weeks and one fellow told me it took six months to a year before he got his full range of motion in his fingers. I can do a lot more with my fingers today than yesterday or last week. I personally have no patience for healing so I would imagine I am a bit of a complainer since I feel I should be healed as quickly as my programmers can create a software program for sale. But this is certainly not the case. However I do notice every day that I can do something new. For example, yesterday I was able to wash under my left armpit with a bar of soap and move the bar up and down bending my wrist which is something I could not do up until yesterday.
So in conclusion, I would suggest you get yourself to a hospital and to a surgeon that you have faith in and have the PRC performed so that you can begin to heal. After all, you have pain today but you are not moving forward. In my opinion it’s better to be moving forward towards healing than to be suspended like you are right now. Please let us know what your decision is, where you’re having the procedure done and please check back with us afterwards and let us know your progress. I may eventually start different pages such as week one, week two and put people’s comments in so that we can see the variety of healing processes. I hope this is helpful and I’ve been told by many people that staying positive and looking forward is the key to overcoming this situation. One gentleman said that nobody picks a PRC and that a PRC picks you.
Hi Nelson. I had surgery one year ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Before surgery the pain was very severe. After one year I can hardly notice the difference from pre-surgery. My wrist has good movement and grip strength is about 80 percent of my other hand. I have no issues with fingers and even cut a lot of firewood over the fall but did wear my brace when I did that. The biggest issue I have is when I am working on a car, 4wheeler, or something like that and can not bend my wrist to put a bolt or nut in a tight place. I hope this will help you and this is just my take on the surgery. God Bless
Hi PRC-ers and thank you, Peter, for creating this site. This is my first post. I am a 61 year-old woman, a recently retired high school teacher and a fitness lunatic, people say (a runner, mostly). I had a PRC last Friday, May 15, 2015 because I had been putting up with increasing pain and disability for 30+ years (I was improperly diagnosed in the 1980s) and the cortisone shots weren’t helping much anymore. I had Kienbock’s Stage 3b or maybe 4. I am 11 days out from surgery and my finger motion is great. Is that because my finger motion is good to begin with– from years of playing the piano? I don’t know.
But look. I have only one real question right now: How long is this terrible pain going to last? It’s bad, bad, bad. Last night I had to take pain pills in the middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep. I am taking 4 advils and 1 percocet every 4 hours. If I stretch it out to 5 hours, I know it. After 11 days, I thought the pain would be decreasing by now. In fact I thought it WAS decreasing @2 days ago, but now it’s back. Am I just being impatient? How long will this pain go on? When I read some of your experiences, I feel like a wimp. But no lie. This is some bad pain. Those of you who had bad pain– how long did it last?
Thanks,
Karen
Hi,
I can only point you to my experience on Day 11-14…. https://proximalrowcarpectomy.com/2013/07/03/day-11-to-day-14/
Thank you, Peter.
Well, I feel a little better having read how similar I am to your experience on Day 11. The only difference is my pain, after meds, is about a 6-7 according to those pain emoticons. But without meds, it’s a solid 9. No lie. I’m not sure why I’m letting the meds wear off, because like you said, then I am chasing the pain. I guess I’m being impatient and stubborn. Also–since my fingers have good mobility, maybe I’m moving them too much, making it hurt more? Ok. I’m gonna take the meds. I hate this, I really do. I hope it was worth it. Thanks again. Karen
Sent from my iPhone
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Karen, I always was on pain meds. I was warned to not stop because then you have to chase the pain (catch up). So I honestly cannot say what it was like with no pain meds, probably was a 9 as well
Hey Karen. I had a PRC dec 1,2014. My advice is to take the pain meds as directed. I had to keep my arm at a right angle for several weeks because it would throb if I let it down. Slowly it did get better. Healing is a very slow process and as my surgeon told me, you cannot rush Mother Nature. All you will do is cause yourself pain. Take it easy and let your arm rest. Good luck. I am next week 6 months post op and I still find new things that I can do that I could not do a week or so ago. But I do not have the pain I had before the PRC.
Hi all, I’m from the Netherlands and I suffered trauma to both my wrists due to an crazy mountainbike jump stunt going awfully wrong. I needed PRC on my right wrist. The surgeon explained to me that I should be happy with 40-50% less mobility and power after surgery.
As I was and am very active in al kinds of sports including olympic weightlifting, track & field and cross fit, 40-50% reduce was not acceptable.
It took me less than a year to achieve 100% grip strength and wrist strength. My mobility is indeed less than it was before (-50%). It is now 11 years since my accident.
Playing guitar is still possible. Weightlifting is also possible but doing front squats is more difficult to do. Hand stand or push ups can only be done on my fists.
To give you an idea what regaining 100% means in my case: Being able to clean & jerk 235lbs and deadlift 374lbs.
I hope you and your wrists all get better and stronger too. Take care y’al!
George