วีดีโอ

Hi Christopher. I mentioned palm up bicep curls. I’ve also been out several weeks here and there from gripping too hard…not sure what was causing the pain, but pretty sure it wasn’t anything structural with the implant. Probably the only other thing I can think of that I don’t believe I covered is that I’m very aware all the time, especially when being active. I would sacrifice other parts of my body to protect my right arm. Not just the mechanical joint, but being an engineer, I’m fairly certain the ulna would be increasingly susceptible to breaking at the end of the post. I also found a doctor who was familiar with the implant. It was actually the inventor’s former partner, and fortunately my insurance covered him. The insurance fought to the final appeal on covering the implant though, arguing it wasn’t necessary. My wife spent hours on the phone arguing with them. I wish you the very best of luck. There are no guarantees in surgeries, and I’ve suffered losses in multiple surgeries. But I was fortunate that this one worked out for me. As I mentioned in the video, I’ve found documented cases where this implant has not worked for others. Do your due diligence, evaluate the risk and possible outcomes compared to where you are now. This is pretty much end game before fusing your forearm bones or living with a one bone forearm. With the condition I was in and my desires for the remainder of my life, this was worth the risk as I was pretty well disabled and in considerable pain. This seemed like the only option that had a chance of giving me anything close to the level of function I wanted for my life going forward.

I don’t know for sure. They cut a rectangular section from the distal part of my ulna that included a small section of the radius side. So, he did take some of the surface that was included in the DRUJ. I didn’t completely comprehend what his plan was when I got the surgery. It was my understanding that he was going to carve out an area with a dremel-like tool in the suspected impact area, not use a straight up bone saw. After learning so much more about the area after the failure and recounting my symptoms prior to surgery, I think it is plausible that I had DRUJ arthritis started before the failed surgery and ulnar abutment syndrome was an incorrect diagnosis. Thus, removing part of the joint via the wafer resection just accelerated the condition quickly to end game. Others have even suggested the actual correct diagnosis may have been tendinopathy, but I had taken many months off from activity, and my symptoms had only gotten worse. Regardless, I am fortunate to be where I am now. I wish you the best if you were searching for answers for yourself or a loved one.

@@bradgreen1465 thanks for your reply, for sharing your experience, and answering our questions! I've spent a lot of time researching. There's so little information available. And I also realize more and more how important it is for us patients to do our own research and to be informed.

That’s why I put this out there…very limited access to others with experience. I found the amateur weightlifter on a message board and that was my only contact with him, and I don’t remember where that was. The sales rep for aptis put me in touch with the eye doctor. I believe he was real because I verified his business existed and his email address aligned. My choice was fairly simple…give this a shot or be fairly disabled to a degree that depression may have ended my marriage and life. I’m very lucky to have come out on the winning side. I’ve since seen less favorable case studies published, so I don’t know if I’m more typical or more the exception. As mentioned in the video, I live with pain, but I have function. My choices of activities determine how much pain, and I know that some of the stuff I do puts me at risk. But I’m very conscious of my wrist while doing risky activities, and I would tuck my arm and sacrifice other parts of my body to protect it. The electric drill is the only thing that has come close to derailing my success story…I usually remember to use both hands. The surgery that ruined me was supposed to be pretty straightforward. I put up with a lot before thinking about any other surgery. There are certainly no guarantees, even with a highly credentialed surgeon. Best of luck with your decision.

Did it work?

Can’t recommend anything specific. Just needs to be relatively firm to work in the way I described in the video.

I’m so very sorry. I can relate to the lack of flexibility as my right arm was reduced to essentially a (very painful and weak) pincher/poker type device for more than half a year prior to the replacement. I wish you the best as it seems you have more going on than I do/did. It took some time for my body to adjust to those missing connections between my forearm bones and the carpal bones that the TFCC provides, but I think it is a combination of awareness of activities that demand that strength and compensation of muscles to provide some support. We’ll never be what we once were, but I hope you can achieve a functional level that you can accept. I still get angry at what was “taken” from me, but I think I’ve got the best possible outcome from where I was. Even if something happens that I lose further function in the future, this has at least given me some bonus semi-normal life time I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Sorry, didn’t see this come through. I believe I just alternated several layers with Saran Wrap, all bigger than the indoor antenna. I pulled up the fiberglass, laid the antenna face down, and simply laid the layers of foil and Saran Wrap over the back and replaced the fiberglass.

Did you go through with surgery? I don’t imagine you had much of a choice in your line of work. I hope you have found some relief, and hope you were diagnosed correctly.

Nothing in particular. You should probably try them on at the store before buying online. In order to do what is described in the video, it needs to be relatively firm but still comfortable enough to sleep in. Good luck.

Has your wife had any issues with her jaw being permanently moved forward? Assuming it's a mandibular advancement device. I've been using a 3D printed mouthpiece for well over a year, but teeth are starting to hurt. I'm going to try your method in this video, so glad it popped up in my feed.

No. The biggest problem she has is the bulkiness hurting her lips. I think they recommend moving your lower jaw forward a bit during molding to your mouth, but she has not complained about feeling like her bite is messed up. Hers is really just a glorified football mouthpiece, nothing extravagant.

The USTA let me go down a level with my wrist replacement, and I played lefty last spring season. Eventually as I started to improve and hit real lefty strokes, my nearly 50 year old body started rebelling. So I’m back to just to light duty right handed tennis with an underhand serve. The failed wafer resection procedure was with Dr. Gaston at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte. The wrist replacement was with Dr. Gupta in Louisville. I was not aware that my wafer resection result was a possible outcome. Increased chance of arthritis is a default chance with almost any joint surgery, but the intent of that risk disclaimer is more along the line of years down the road, not immediately after surgery. The biggest risk I saw with the USO was non union, which prolongs recovery. Obviously IMO, longer potential recovery time is better than significant loss of use of your dominant hand.

Geez I’m so sorry for all the pain you’ve gone through. I read this thread and it makes me very hesitant to go through with USO. I might just try to convert to lefty and 2-handed with tennis. Did you have a full TFCC tear also? I researched and was thinking of driving all the way to Charlotte to see Gaston but glad I found you and received info. Thank you so much for posting this and sharing your experiences. It is super helpful.

I wish you the very best. Who knows...my DRUJ may have already been arthritic and perhaps that was the pain I was experiencing (not the ulnar abutment) and this surgery just bypassed years of arthritis progression and took me straight to end game in months. And yeah, several doctors told me that my best hope after this catastrophe was only pain relief and potential restoration of mild activities. It's been over 3 years since my joint replacement and still doing reasonably well. Just have to back off heavier activities and/or go heavy on the pain relievers once in a while. I'm finishing up a major deck remodel with only occasional "gofer" type help from my wife, and I blatantly violate the recommended max weight limit for the joint replacement by multiples usually many times a day. Plus, I got a cool toy (a framing nail gun) that I wouldn't have bought if I was 100% healthy.

Hi thanks for your post. What did you end up doing and was it successful? I'd really appreciate a reply. Thank you!

@fearfullymade82 what did you end up having done? How did it go? Could you please share. Thank you!

@@olgag4807 I got the open wafer procedure done! Dr cut out a corner of my inner ulnar bone to take me out of ulnar impaction syndrome! My wrist will never be the same, it still hurts but I think it’s the tears in my tfcc, nerve and ligament damage! I’m not getting anymore surgeries done because if I do I won’t have a left hand!

@@bradgreen1465 read other post I commented on what I got done

hi good day can you tell me the brand you brought....thanks

@ alisterazzurri1987 I use a soft cervical neck brace from a company called the complete care shop. But these type of neck braces are available everywhere and are cheap.

@@HdHd-hp6qz thanks alot....greatly appreciated

I'm happy for you. I hope this still works. I'm going to give it a try.

Seems like this might belong to one of my other videos, but I’m still happy with the outcome of the Aptis prosthesis. I feel I’m far more functional than I would have been with any other surgical option.

Did it work? Please respond i am diagnosed today

@@ayataswindoo what's been working for you

@@lalmuanpuia730 hi bro don't waste money on collors.. buy a chin strap kinda works for me

Did it work? Please respond i am diagnosed today

Did it work ser?

I do still have tendon pain. Both too much and too little activity level cause pain. Again, though, it’s all relative and very much acceptable to me considering where I was. The joint replacement gave me my life back. Even if something happens and it only turns out to be a few more years of use, that’s time I didn’t think I would have and I’m grateful for it. I continue to slowly switch to left handed for activities to prolong the life of the implant.

Did it work? Please respond i am diagnosed today

Did it work? Please respond i am diagnosed today