At The Cavell Hospital in Enfield, North London, we offer private quality orthopaedic treatment to alleviate pain and improve movement in your hand or wrist. During your initial consultation at The Cavell Hospital, you will be examined by one of our experienced Orthopaedic Surgeons, who will perform a physical assessment to confirm the cause of your symptoms and build your tailored treatment plan accordingly.
Your Orthopaedic Consultant will work with a skilled team of healthcare professionals across specialties, including Radiologists, Pain Management Consultants, Anaesthetists, Physiotherapists and Hand Therapists to diagnose and treat your symptoms quickly and effectively. If initial treatment such as pain relief medication, steroid injections and physiotherapy sessions have not helped improve your symptoms, you could be advised to have surgery, which you will be guided through, from your initial consultation to your recovery.
At The Cavell Hospital, our surgical procedures for hand and wrist problems include:
Hand surgery for Dupuytren’s disease
Dupuytren’s disease is a condition where one or more of your fingers bend towards your wrist. It can affect both hands. You could require hand surgery to straighten your fingers.
Hand surgery for Dupuytren’s disease can be performed through a needle fasciectomy, where a needle is placed in various areas of your palm and finger to loosen and straighten your finger, or a fasciectomy, which releases your affected finger through a surgical incision (cut).
Carpal tunnel syndrome surgery
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs due to pressure on your medial nerve (the nerve that travels across the front of your wrist). It can cause pain and a numbness or a tingling sensation in your fingers and wrist. Fortunately, your Orthopaedic Consultant at The Cavell Hospital in London can perform carpal tunnel syndrome surgery to relieve these symptoms.
Hand and wrist ligament reconstruction
Your ligaments are connective tissues that hold the bones of your hands together. If any of these ligaments become torn through overuse, injury, or arthritis, you could require surgery to repair or reconstruct your torn ligaments.
Trigger finger release surgery
Trigger finger can impact one or more of the tendons (cords of tissue that connect your muscle to your bone) in your hand. It occurs when your finger becomes locked in a bent position, causing pain, discomfort, and limited movement in your hands. Surgery is an effective treatment option for trigger finger and it is rare for the problem to reoccur in your operated finger or thumb following surgery.
Finger joint replacement surgery
If you are battling severe arthritis, finger joint replacement surgery can relieve your pain and help restore movement in your hand. Finger joint replacement is an operation where the damaged surfaces of your joint are replaced with artificial parts, known as a prosthesis.
Wrist arthroscopy
Your Orthopaedic Consultant at The Cavell Hospital in London might also suggest a wrist arthroscopy to diagnose and treat any damage to the structures inside your wrist, such as your ligaments (the tissue that connects one bone to another) and cartilage (the tissue which cushions your joints).
An arthroscopy uses small incisions (cuts) to perform your surgery, which facilitates a faster recovery and shorter stay in hospital.
Your Orthopaedic Surgeon could advise that you have hand and wrist surgery if you are suffering from any of the following conditions:
- A hand or wrist injury: An injury to the soft tissues in your hand or wrist such as your muscles, tendons, or ligaments, could be caused by a fall or the overuse of your hand or wrist. The injured area could be painful, swollen or bruised.
- Osteoarthritis: Osteoarthritis occurs when your cartilage (the tissue that sits between your joints) breaks down, causing the bones that form your joint to rub together. This can lead to symptoms such as pain, swelling and stiffness in your hand or wrist. As you age, your risk of developing osteoarthritis increases due to the natural wear and tear of your joints.
- Rheumatoid arthritis: This form of arthritis is an autoimmune condition where your immune system wrongly attacks your synovium (the cells that line your joint) triggering inflammation, pain, swelling and stiffness.
- Dupuytren’s contracture: Dupuytren’s contracture can impact any one of your fingers, causing them to bend towards your wrist. In the early stages of a Dupuytren’s contracture, you might develop bumps across your palm. If left untreated, your hand’s condition could deteriorate, as the affected finger can become trapped in a bent position.
- Trigger finger: Trigger finger can cause pain, stiffness and a clicking sound when you move your affected finger or thumb. As a result, you could find it difficult to straighten your affected finger or thumb. Trigger finger can be caused by inflammation and swelling in your tendon or the sheath (protective covering) over your tendon.
At The Cavell Hospital in London, we offer a consultation with an Orthopaedic Specialist within 48 hours of booking your appointment online, submitting an online enquiry, or calling a member of our team directly.
At your initial consultation, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will discuss your medical history and symptoms, including when they first appeared and how they have affected your ability to fulfil your everyday activities. Your Orthopaedic Surgeon will perform a physical examination of your hand and could recommend an MRI or X-ray scan to further assess the condition of your hand or wrist. These painless scans will enable your Orthopaedic Surgeon to examine the internal structures of your hand and wrist.
After a diagnosis has been confirmed, your Orthopaedic Consultant will work with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including Hand Therapists, Physiotherapists and Pain Management Consultants, to establish a treatment plan that best suits your needs. If your Orthopaedic Consultant feels you could benefit from surgery, they will discuss what this will involve, including the risks and benefits that are associated with your hand or wrist surgery.
If you decide to go ahead with surgery, you may need to attend a preoperative assessment to ensure that you are fit to have surgery. Your preoperative assessment at The Cavell Hospital in London will be carried out by a member of our dedicated nursing team. Your Nurse will ask you about your current medication and perform a general health check to measure you weight, height and blood pressure.
Prior to your surgery, you could be advised to quit smoking (if applicable) as this can delay the healing of your wounds and put you at risk of suffering anaesthesia-related complications.
If you do smoke, your healthcare team at The Cavell Hospital in London will guide you to relevant support services and provide you with information and advice to help you quit smoking.
What will your hand or wrist at The Cavell Hospital involve?
On the day of your operation, you will be greeted by a member of our team who will guide you to one of our safe and COVID-secure operating theatres. After you are relaxed and comfortable, your Consultant will administer either general or local anaesthetic depending on your procedure. Local anaesthetic works by numbing the area to be operated on. General anaesthetic will ensure that you are not awake during the procedure.
If you are offered general anaesthetic, you will be advised to avoid driving or operating any machinery for at least 24 hours after your surgery. The type of anaesthesia that is administered and the method used to perform your hand or wrist surgery will vary depending on your diagnosis. We explore how some of our common hand and wrist procedures are carried out in closer detail:
Finger joint replacement surgery
Finger joint replacement surgery can be performed to treat arthritis in your fingers or an injury. Your finger joint replacement could be carried out in your proximal interphalangeal joint (the joint between your knuckle and fingernail) or your metacarpophalangeal (knuckle) joint. Your Orthopaedic Surgeon will first create an incision on the skin above your affected joint. The damaged areas of bone that form your joint are then removed and replaced with artificial parts.
Trigger finger release surgery
Trigger finger release surgery can be performed through an open or percutaneous trigger finger release surgery. During an open trigger finger release surgery, your Orthopaedic Surgeon will create an incision in the palm of your hand to cut through your tendon’s sheath (the protective covering over your tendon). This will increase the width of your tendon’s sheath and allow your tendon to move more freely, significantly reducing any pain or discomfort you are experiencing.
Your trigger finger release surgery could take about 20 minutes to perform.
Wrist arthroscopy
You could be advised to have a wrist arthroscopy to repair any tears in your cartilage and remove loose bone or cartilage and bone spurs (abnormal growths).
During your wrist arthroscopy, your Surgeon will create around two to four small incisions around your affected joint. An arthroscope (a thin tube with a camera) will be passed through one of these incisions. This arthroscope will allow your Surgeon to view the inside of your wrist on a monitor. Although an arthroscopy can be used to confirm a diagnosis, your Surgeon will also carry out repairs through arthroscopy by inserting surgical instruments into your other incisions. Your wrist arthroscopy can take around 30 to 60 minutes to perform.
After your hand or wrist operation at The Cavell Hospital, any incisions will be closed with stitches that will either dissolve over time or need to be removed at your next appointment. A dressing will be placed over your stitches and your hand could be placed into a cast to protect the operated area.
The cost of your hand or wrist treatment at The Cavell Hospital will vary depending on your diagnosis and the treatment that you are advised to have. Our helpful team will confirm the total cost of your treatment in writing after your initial consultation and any necessary diagnostic tests.
At The Cavell Hospital in London, you can pay for your treatment through your private medical insurance or through our payment plans, which allow you to spread the cost of your care. Discover how to apply and set up a payment plan with our hospital on our payment options page.
There are many advantages to having private hand and wrist treatment at The Cavell Hospital in London, including:
- Fast access to a consultation within 48 hours of submitting your online enquiry, calling us, or booking your appointment online;
- Flexible appointment times to suit your schedule with weekend and evening availability;
- Specialist-led care at every stage of your healthcare journey, from your diagnosis to your recovery;
- Affordable prices that can be paid for using your private medical insurance or our flexible payment plans, and
- The freedom to spread the cost of your treatment across up to five years and interest free for the first 12 months with our payment options.
The Cavell Hospital in Enfield can be conveniently accessed by patients across London via public transport or car. In addition to its accessible location, The Cavell Hospital is open from 7am to 9pm, Monday to Sunday to help serve people within our local community and those who make the journey to us from further afield.
With nearly 99% of our patients likely to recommend us to their loved ones, there are several benefits to having treatment at The Cavell Hospital such as:
- A team of medical officers who are available 24 hours a day;
- An onsite pharmacy that allows you to collect your prescriptions without the hassle of making further travel arrangements;
- En-suite hospital rooms with access to a TV to help make your experience with us as comfortable as possible;
- Car parking and easy access to our hospital via public transport, and
- Outstanding patient satisfaction rates, with 98.1% of patients rating their quality of care at The Cavell Hospital as excellent or very good.
Content reviewed by Circle in-house team in October 2021. Next review due October 2024.
