Finding Renewed Independence After Successful Total Wrist Replacement Surgery

Penny Lucia, a retired bookkeeper, counts gardening as one of the hobbies she loves most. In 1987, she started experiencing pain in her right wrist blaming it on carpal tunnel issues after digging through the clay to garden in her new home.

Using a brace and learning to use her hand differently provided some relief, but the pain progressed despite cortisone injections and physical therapy aimed at relieving the pain.
“That is how I controlled it until 2020 when it never fully went away,” said Penny. “Using a brace and using my hand less and less, was the way I dealt with it. I did not understand that this was rheumatoid arthritis destroying the joints and bones in my wrist, not carpal tunnel.”

Penny looks for more permanent relief

The married mother of four and grandmother of seven, says the pain profoundly impacted her daily life.

“I couldn’t blow dry my hair, open a door, use scissors, turn a fork or spoon into my mouth or even shuffle cards,” she expressed. To compensate she used her left hand but developed a sore left arm and shoulder from overuse.

Penny's local rheumatologist referred her to a specialist who, unfortunately, couldn't offer much help beyond acknowledging the severity of her condition. However, he recommended consulting with Charles Day, MD, vice chair and chief of orthopedic hand surgery at Henry Ford Health, for wrist surgery treatment options.

Penny consulted with Dr. Day who explained there are two surgical solutions to help alleviate the pain, total wrist replacement, a newer surgical option which replaces the damaged wrist joint with an artificial joint, or fusion of the wrist, a surgical procedure that joins the bones of the wrist together to form a single solid bone.

Dr. Day says the wrist fusion procedure is the traditional surgical treatment for severe osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, however, he is believed to be the only surgeon in the region that performs total wrist replacement that offers important advantages over the wrist fusion procedure.

“The wrist fusion procedure is more common, however with a wrist fusion, you cannot bend the wrist,” explains Dr. Day who has done over 18 total wrist replacements during his career.
He adds that the wrist is highly intricate made up of more than a dozen individual joints formed by eight small bones that collectively make up the wrist. Total wrist replacement demands precise placement of the prosthesis due to the wrist's complexity.

“While wrist replacement allows for at least 60 degrees of motion, there is no degree of motion with a fusion,” Dr. Day added. “The biggest difference with the wrist replacement procedure is that the surgeon has to be much more precise about the placement of the wrist joint prosthesis, since the bones are so small.”

Penny said it was very important for her to have motion in her wrist to have a more functional life. After hearing the options and consulting with her husband, she put her trust in Dr. Day to do the total wrist replacement at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital on May 7, 2024. She says by all accounts the four-hour surgery was a success and is a decision she does not regret.

Restored range of motion

“After the surgery I got the cast off after one month and played pinochle that evening and shuffled the cards, something I was not able to do for more than a year,” she proudly states.

With the help of her therapists at Henry Ford Physical Rehabilitation-Wyandotte, Penny continues to make great progress in her range of wrist motion. She says after just two months after surgery she can now write and sign her name. “I can also use a curling iron and brush to dry my hair, open a water bottle and jar and use scissors again.”

She explains there were many other quality of life improvement issues because of the surgery.

“Before surgery, I didn't feel comfortable attending outings or going to restaurants because I couldn't cut my own food. My friend even mentioned that she could see it in my face at how much better I feel, I think because before I was in so much pain,” said Penny. “It’s made a world of difference in the little things that everyone takes for granted.”

Dr. Day expresses after a follow up visit, that Penny is on track for a great recovery.

“I just saw her in clinic recently, 10 weeks after her surgery and she already has 65 degrees of motion in her right wrist. Moreover, she feels so good about her wrist, that I just gave her the green light to start golfing again,” he expressed.

Thankful for her Henry Ford care team

While Penny continues to improve, she is quick to express gratitude for her entire Henry Ford Health team that made her successful recovery possible.

“The therapy team including, Catherine Gaty and Mary Beth Monte at Henry Ford Physical Rehabilitation-Wyandotte, have been so supportive and helpful with this recovery,” she enthusiastically states.  “Prior to surgery, I did extensive searching for a patient, therapist, or doctor who received or worked on wrist replacements, only to discover that Dr. Day is the only one. “I’m so lucky and grateful that he was practicing practically right in my own backyard.”

“With this successful surgery I feel like a new woman,” Penny added. “The result is much better than I realized it could ever be and I have been given back an important part of myself.

I thank God and Dr. Day everyday – all day long – as I am able to use my hand and wrist again!”