Lost Thumb Can be Reconstructed

September 5, 2008

“If you lose a thumb, it can reduce hand function by 40 per cent,” Dr Haroon Rashid, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Aga Khan University Hospital, told the audience at a health awareness programme in Quetta. But a new field of hand surgery can provide effective solutions and hand surgeons can reconstruct lost thumbs and restore the functioning of the hand.

Dr Rashid said, “AKU runs a successful postgraduate programme on hand surgery. Crooked hands, either since birth or as a result of trauma, are common orthopaedic complications that can be avoided through better awareness about the developing specialty of hand surgery.” He added that in most cases, early diagnosis of infection can cure the disease, however, for more complex hand problems, reconstructive surgery can provide good outcomes.

Dr Rashid also talked about a little known, but effective, Russian technique performed at Aga Khan University Hospital, called Ilizarov, which utilises external appliances to realign misshapen limbs. The technique can successfully treat various orthopaedic complications such as deformities, skeletal defects after an accident, chronic bone infections and complex fractures. The Hospital has set up an Ilizarov clinic where specialist surgeons have performed over 300 successful procedures using this technique.

Dr Masood Umer, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hospital, outlined some measures for the management of knee pain. Dr Umer said that knee pain in young women is best treated by exercise, while injury related pain can be relieved through minor surgical interventions. Knee pain in older individuals is commonly caused by degenerative arthritis which, if caught early, can be treated with simple pain relievers, knee exercises and regular walking. Surgical options are usually reserved for advanced stages of arthritis.

For more information, contact Hassaan Akhter, Media Executive, Department of Public Affairs, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi, on +92 - 21 486-2927 or hassaan.akhter@aku.edu.

Notes: 

Aga Khan University Hospital
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi (AKUH,K), started operations in 1985, as an integrated, health care delivery component of Aga Khan University. It is a philanthropic, not-for-profit, private teaching institution committed to providing the best possible options for diagnosis of disease and team management of patient care. Seventy-three per cent of all patients treated at AKUH are from low- to middle-income areas. Those who are unable to pay for treatment receive assistance through a variety of subsidies including the Hospital's Patient Welfare Programme that has disbursed Rs 2 billion to more than 300,000 people since 1986.

As part of its outreach programme and to create awareness of the need for early diagnosis and timely treatment, AKUH has organized over 300 Signs, Symptoms and Care programmes in Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta and the UAE, benefiting more than 50,000 people.

Aga Khan University
AKU was chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university. Its objective is to promote human welfare in general, and the welfare of the people of Pakistan in particular, by disseminating knowledge and providing instruction, training, research and service in the health sciences, education and such other branches of learning as the University may determine. AKU also has programmes in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Syria and Egypt.

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