Q: You have been in medicine for over 40 years. Is there one thing that has remained consistent when it comes to quality patient care?
A: The goal remains the proper care of the patients. That includes timely triage, listening to the patients, using anxillary studies like Xray, CTs, MRIs and arriving at a proper diagnosis and then explaining options for treatment based on age and lifestyle requirements. Then, you go over the risks, benefits, possible complications from the agreed upon surgical or non-surgical solutions. Finally, you work with the patient on the proper recovery options that may include some type of physical rehabilitation and therapy.
Q: What led you to be a hand surgeon?
A: My granddad and my dad were orthopedics so I knew I wanted to be one myself. I made good grades in school and became interested in high school.
Q: What “off the field” injuries do you see?
A: Other than injuries where you fall or have some type of traumatic event, there are degenerative conditions like trigger finger and carpal tunnel, tennis elbow and similar overuse problems. Just because someone doesn’t play a sport doesn’t mean the everyday person doesn’t have “sports-like” injuries.
Q: Do you work with specific teams on specific injuries?
A: I have been a hand consultant through the years for different area professional teams, college teams and high school teams in the state. More recently, I have been the hand consultant for UAB sports programs and their affiliated high school and college relationships.
Q: What are the symptoms and sensations patients need to watch out for that determine problems with your hands?
A: Always listen to your body. When it doesn’t feel okay, it’s not okay. If you feel pain in the elbow playing tennis or cramps in the hand using clippers in the yard, your instinct is to stop immediately or decrease that activity over time. Often, that’s not enough. That’s when you should start to consider speaking to a provider who can give you a proper examination and determine a proper plan of action for recovery.
