K&C team give patients their freedom back with wrist replacements

Surgeons at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital completed three wrist replacement operations in just one list.

The hospital is a specialist centre for the procedure, meaning patients from both East Kent and further afield can be referred here for this. The nearest alternative centre is Southend.

One of the patients was grandfather Kevin Gray, from Tankerton, who is hoping the surgery will allow him to use his hand without pain.

Kevin, 64, said: “I had not heard of a wrist replacement until consultant hand surgeon Andrew Smith mentioned it.

“I thought I was looking at a total fixation, which would have relieved the pain but left me with no real movement.

“So when I was told I could potentially have more movement than I had before the surgery I was over the moon."

Kevin first developed osteoarthritis 10 years ago, and had surgery to partially immobilise the wrist. But 18 months ago the pain returned, and was compounded by a previous injury to his left hand. After surgery, he was left 60 per cent disabled on that side.

For his right wrist, surgeons used a metal ball and socket joint, similar to a hip, to replace the wrist. Patients are often awake during the surgery, using a nerve block so they don’t feel any pain. They go home the same day.

Kevin said: “I have had both knees replaced, and the last one was done with a spinal block and light anaesthetic and I was only somewhat aware of what was going on.

“This time I was more awake. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience; I just heard tapping and banging and the team talking.

“Afterwards it was nowhere near as painful as you might expect and a week later I already have full movement of my fingers and thumb.

“In fact, because it’s not painful, I keep going to do things I’m not meant to do so my wife keeps reminding me!”

The dad of two previously worked at Canterbury Cathedral until he was made redundant, then had a part-time job in the Tankerton Arms micropub. But he had to give it up because of the pain in his wrist.

He said: “It’s hard to express how having the pain affected my day-to-day life.

“It made it very awkward. It was a compound effect, with lots of small problems, like trying to use a screwdriver, lift something heavy, or even turn a door handle.

“The replacement will make a huge difference. I have a lot of projects in the garden I want to get on with and haven’t been able to do.

“The team were great, and explained everything very clearly.”

Consultant hand and wrist surgeon Lucy Maling, who operated alongside Mark Williamson, said: “Wrist replacements are still quite a niche procedure. Myself, Mark Williamson, Jeremy Stanton and Chris James perform these as dual consultant cases.

“Between us, we carry out around 30 a year, compared to thousands of hips and knees. Despite the comparatively low numbers, we are still the third largest user of this implant nationwide.

“Being able to do three back-to-back was a fantastic opportunity and a really efficient use of our resources.

“Previously patients would have been offered joint fusion, but some people want to preserve movement, which the replacement allows.

“I find it incredibly rewarding being able to give someone back their freedom. Everyone uses their hands, so it is nice to be able to restore that function for each patient’s individual needs.”