In April of 2022, I had left middle and ring finger PIP joint replacements, that’s the joint above the knuckle.  I was having tremendous pain in these two joints and it was making life very difficult indeed.  At that time I had 4 dogs and 2 horses to look after, my own business to run as self employed and of course my house.  I could see no option but to have this surgery as it just couldn’t be any worse.

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After consulting with Mr Stone who gave me all the facts and put me very much at ease, I decided to continue and had the surgery on 7th April.  I opted to go for a general anaesthetic as I just didn’t feel I wanted to be awake.  The day of the surgery arrived and obviously I was a little concerned with so much to do at home but all went well.  I woke to my hand being fairly heavily bandaged with an appointment to have stitches out approx. 2 weeks later.  It was quite painful for the first 48 hours but with pain relief, it was more than manageable. I really didn’t need much more than an occasional paracetamol after that 48 hours.   It then seemed to settle really quickly and I could do quite a lot myself within 2 weeks.  Stitches came out at approx. 14 days and then the work started!  Almost hourly exercises to keep the joints moving without overdoing it.  I found my body told me when I had done too much and then it was rest with hand raised , but all in all everyday things became easier and I was managing to touch type just after the stitches came out which was a real result.  I kept myself busy using my hand but being sensible about the things I knew I wouldn’t be able to do and day by day it just got better. 

 

I couldn’t bend my fingers well before the operation and I must say that I still can’t make a fist but there is no pain.  The movement is no worse than before but without the searing pain that comes with arthritis.  At 5 months post-surgery, the scars were virtually invisible, the pain was completely gone and my life was just about back to normal.  Perhaps my fingers are not as strong as a normal hand but with the arthritis in the joints they were not of very much use to me anyway.  The operation was so successful that I was ready to have the same two joints done on my other hand in early September.  The healing process is just about the same.

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Keeping the joints moving and not being afraid to use my hand I feel was the key to the success of the surgery.  I could even get my wedding ring back on approximately 10 weeks post-surgery.  I now have no swelling and fingers look normal.  If you didn’t know, you wouldn’t know that the surgery had been performed.

 

I wouldn’t hesitate but recommend Mr Stone who did such wonderful work on such small joints.