Inspiration

I am fortunate.  Each day I am inspired by the kids (and families) that I am able to treat. These children are born with differences and, therefore, they do not know any other way.  But they must learn to exist in the everyday world with functional and social challenges.  And succeed they do.  Each child […]

Great Toe Polydactyly (extra toes)

It might seem odd that I am writing about extra toes.  Typically, hand surgeons don’t take care of the foot but, in many situations, the hand surgeon is the perfect person to help take care of certain foot problems including extra toes, toe syndactyly (toes joined together), and even things like cleft foot. The reason […]

Arthrogryposis: Arm position and elbow flexion

Kids with arthrogryposis are smart and are able to figure out how to accomplish many of life’s tasks despite their functional limitations.  We, as surgeons, can sometimes help children with arthrogryposis by releasing and/ or repositioning tight joints.  We cannot make the arms or hands normal but little changes can make for big improvements. It […]

Early Outcome for Pollicization (creation of a thumb)

Pollicization is the name of the surgery which entails the creation of a new thumb, a “Pollex” (Latin for thumb).  For those of us who regularly care for children born with anomalies of the upper extremity, this is perhaps our favorite because it dramatically helps both appearance and function.  I have previously blogged about pollicization […]