Aptis DRUJ wrist replacement 5 year update
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- Update video to help those who may be struggling with similar issues. I’m fortunate that everything has gone so well…doctors were painting a much different future for me before I found this option.
So happy for you Brad..my right wrist has had 4 surgeries from a Scapho-lunate ligament rupture and TFCC tear. My wrist has a fusion with a plate i have no flexibility.. now ill need this surgery on top of all the other surgeries.. needless to say Im trying to stay optimistic its really hard..
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.
Wow, Brad... this video brought tears to my eyes. I watched your previous video, it was just so sad and tough. So happy how far you've come!
I'm just so puzzled by what went wrong with that wafer resection surgery. Looking at those X-rays, it seems like they shaved off the wrong section? They shaved the part at the top, but the edge towards the radius remained?
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.
Hi, Brad. Thanks for this video. I learned something. I am looking at having this surgery done, as I have lost much of my flexion, extension, supination, and pronation (about 80% of each) due to scar tissue and decreased joint space in the DRUJ. My problem is not from damage or lack of stability of the TFCC. So, essentially losing my good TFCC doesn't excite me. But if it can make my wrist/hands more useful and able, it may very well be worth it. Can I ask how you found other Aptis prosthesis patients to connect with? I'd love to hear other people's results, especially people who do manual labor or sports. I'm 57 and still work a lot with my hands. Thanks!
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.