Hand and wrist surgery in Croydon

Located in Shirley Oaks Village on the outskirts of Croydon, our private hospital sees patients from South West London, East Surrey and beyond. People come to use from local areas such as Sutton, Banstead, Coulsdon, Purley and Wallington, as well as Warlingham, Kenley and Chipstead. We also see many patients from further afield. People travel to us to seek the expertise of our experienced consultants and to make the most of our great facilities and compassionate team of healthcare professionals. 

Anything that causes pain, stiffness, weakness or numbness in your hands or wrists can have a significant effect on your daily life.

You may find yourself unable to take part in your favourite sport. Perhaps you’re finding it increasingly difficult to grip and hold things securely and without pain. Even the simplest of tasks can become a challenge.

If you’re struggling with pain, stiffness, weakness or numbness in your hands or wrists, it can be a relief to know that good treatments are available for a wide range of conditions. Here at The Shirley Oaks Hospital, we can provide you with rapid access to an experienced Consultant Hand & Wrist Surgeon for thorough assessment, diagnosis and treatment. 

Your hands, wrists and forearms provide an incredible amount of movement and function. Each hand alone contains 27 bones as well as numerous muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments.

Given the complex structure of the hands and wrists, it’s not surprising that they are susceptible to a range of problems.

Common reasons people visit with our Consultant Hand and Wrist Surgeons include:

• Pain – from injury, disease or the result of natural wear and tear in the joints as we age
• Weakness or numbness in the fingers
• Nerve-type pain
• Deformities in a finger – for example, a finger may become curled and bent unnaturally
• Pain in the base of thumb
• A lump or bump in the hands or wrists
• Sports injury

Common causes of hand and wrist problems include:

• Osteoarthritis – Usually affects the wrist, fingers or thumb. As the disease progresses, the pain and/or stiffness tends to become becomes worse
• Carpal tunnel syndrome – Symptoms include weakness, a tingling sensation and sometimes pain in the wrist and hand. It’s caused when one of three main nerves in your arm (the median nerve) is pinched or compressed
• Ganglion cyst - A small fluid-filled lump in a hand or wrist. Often resolves itself naturally but can be drained if it causes pain or discomfort
• Trigger Finger – Inflammation in a tendon causes a finger to curl into a ‘trigger finger’ position
• Dupuytren’s Contracture (also known as Dupuytren’s disease) – Nodules form as a result of a thickening of the layer that sits just under the skin. These nodules may be painful. Over time, the thickening causes the fingers to curl and fix in a bent position.

Whatever problem you’re experiencing in your hand or wrist, our experienced Hand and Wrist Consultants can help get you out of pain and back to using your hand and wrist free of pain or stiffness. Your consultation can be done at a time convenient to you over secure video, on the telephone or in person at the hospital. 

When you first meet with your Consultant, they’ll talk with you about your symptoms and when they started. They’ll take a medical history and ask you some specific questions such as:

• Whether your symptoms have been getting worse over time?
• If you have pain, what is it like? For example, is it sharp or dull; constant or sporadic?)
• Is any pain in one specific place or is it spreading more generally around the hand and wrist?
• Was there was an obvious trigger for the problem, such as a fall onto an outstretched hand?

Once they’ve talked with you, they will carry out a physical examination of your hand and wrist, moving it into various positions and asking you to perform some simple movements. This helps assess the extent of the problem and shows them what movements and actions are causing you pain or a worsening of symptoms. 

Additional tests may be needed to aid with diagnosis. This will often be an X-ray of your hand and wrist, which can help to confirm or exclude any abnormality in the bones themselves. Additional scans like MRI and ultrasound can sometimes be helpful to assess problems with tendons, ligaments, muscles and nerves. Any of these can be easily arranged for you here on-site should you require them.

The medical history, physical assessment and the results of any diagnostic tests are all used by your Consultant to make a diagnosis. Once they know the exact cause of your symptoms, diagnosis they will discuss any suitable treatment options with you.

Treatment for hand and wrist conditions may include:

• Rest,
• Physiotherapy/hand therapy,
• Pain relief medication,
• Steroid injection,
• Surgery.

Many hand and wrist problems will resolve naturally over time or can be managed well using non-surgical (conservative) treatments. If surgery is required, your Consultant will explain how the operation will be done, the benefits you should expect to see as a result of the surgery, and any potential risks you ned to be aware of.

One of the most important factors in ensuring optimal recovery from any hand and wrist condition is having access to expert support throughout. Here at The Shirley Oaks Hospital our experienced Physiotherapists will work closely with you as you recover, helping you to regain function and movement in your hand and wrist. They will structure a personalised rehabilitation programme just for you, to help improve your strength, range of movement and flexibility, safely and at the right pace for you.

When you choose to visit us for your Hand and Wrist treatment, you’ll benefit from:

• Fast access to experts –When something goes wrong with a hand or wrist, it can significantly affect the quality of your life. We can arrange for you to see one of the top Hand and Wrist Consultants in the region quickly. Quick diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitations means you’ll be on the road to recovery sooner.
• Patient Satisfaction – In an independent survey, 97.6% of people we treated said they were likely or highly likely to recommend us to their friends and family. Our focus is on making your time with us as comfortable, efficient and helpful as possible, getting you out of pain and back to better function as soon as possible.
• Convenient appointments – Our Hand and Wrist Consultants offer appointments throughout the week. We’ll help you schedule an appointment that’s most convenient to you.
• Free Parking – Parking should be the least of your worries when attending hospital. Our on-site car park has 100 spaces, so you won’t have to worry about where to park.

If you’re struggling with pain, weakness, stiffness or numbness in a hand and/or wrist, it can be helpful to get expert medical assessment and advice. Why not get in touch with us today to book a consultation?

Our experienced Hand and Wrist Consultants will thoroughly investigate your symptoms, outline all treatment options for you and arrange any further scans or surgery if required.