Horizon Extras - Winter 2009

The Multifaceted Expertise of Special Surgery Hand Surgeons

At Hospital for Special Surgery, hand surgeons take care of vascular, nerve, and muscle injuries; repair fractures; and restore tendons so patients can resume their careers and continue to enjoy their personal pursuits. Just ask furniture maker Stephen Cook, who severely injured his brachial plexus, leaving him partially paralyzed; sculptor Peggy Ogden, who was treated for carpal tunnel syndrome and basal joint arthritis in her left hand, only to suffer a severe injury of her right hand a year later; attorney Christopher Manno, who lost complete circulation in his left hand as the result of a little-known disease; or world-renowned pianist Misha Dichter who developed Dupuytren’s contracture, making it impossible for him to play. “Function of the hand is difficult to restore,” says Scott W. Wolfe, MD, Chief of the Hand Service. “As hand surgeons, we frequently need to address a whole host of components—nerves, vessels, soft tissues—during one procedure to solve the larger problem.”

 

	Stephen Cook “Coming to Hospital for Special Surgery was my last hope.”
	Peggy Ogden “I’m very fortunate. Dr. Weiland is wonderful.”
	Christopher Manno “It was deemed to be a miraculously successful surgery performed by one of the few people in the country who could do this kind of work.”
	Misha Dichter “Find the one [surgeon] that you think you feel comfortable with, and then totally entrust yourself to that person."