The Maine Hand Center at Plastic + Hand

Many things can cause traumatic hand and/or wrist injuries:

• Sharp cuts (kitchen accidents are common, including cutting an avocado)
• Vehicle accidents (bone fractures can often impale a sharp edge into the nerve)
• Falls
• Dog bites

There are many types of traumatic injuries:

Fractures

• Distal radius fracture (wrist fracture)
• Hand fractures
• Finger fractures
• Alignment/dislocation issues

Nerve injuries

Nerve trauma can happen from any form of hand trauma and may present as a bruised nerve, a cut nerve, a partially cut nerve, or a stretched nerve. 

Tendon injuries

Tendon injuries need very early specialist intervention. When you have a cut or damaged tendon, it needs to be repaired. In the most basic explanation, tendon repair involves stitching the ends together in a specialized way to be strong and effective. However, this must be done correctly to allow the tendon to move properly for your fingers, hands, and wrist to move. 

Tendons course through very small, lubricated tunnels, and the area where the tendon is repaired cannot get stuck in that tunnel. There is a fine balance in repairing the tendon, ensuring it heals while preserving its ability to glide. At the Maine Hand Center at Plastic + Hand, we provide this customized treatment plan for each patient to achieve the best possible result. This includes onsite occupational therapy, which is almost as important, if not more important, than the surgery itself. 

Revisions for past injuries 

After traumatic hand or wrist injuries, some people may still have functional issues after they have healed. Our Plastic + Hand team can help restore this critical function. 

The Maine Hand Center at Plastic + Hand is your first and only stop for your comprehensive hand treatment plan. Of course, if you have a traumatic injury, you may have seen the Emergency Department as the first step in your medical care. 

We start this process by listening. We ask patients about their symptoms and what bothers them in their hands and/or wrists. The surgeon will perform a thorough evaluation, first asking about your health history, followed by a physical examination that may sometimes involve imaging tests (i.e., X-rays, CT Scan, or MRI) or nerve tests (i.e., Electromyography (EMG) or Nerve Conduction Study (NCS). This in-depth evaluation helps determine the most appropriate treatment plan.   

Trusted by Maine Health and Mercy Hospital, the Maine Hand Center at Plastic + Hand handles most hand surgeries and specialized hand treatment in this region. 

Depending on your specific diagnosis, your Plastic + Hand surgeon will discuss the most appropriate surgical options. With training from some of the top medical centers in the U.S. (including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UCSF, Mayo Clinic), Plastic + Hand surgeons have the depth of experience and skills necessary to perform your hand surgery safely and successfully in the comfort of our accredited outpatient Plastic + Hand Surgery Center located on-site here in Portland, Maine. 

In many cases, surgery is just the start of recovery, and intensive rehabilitation may be necessary to increase hand strength and function. That’s why Plastic + Hand includes occupational therapists as important members of our team to provide treatment for patients with traumatic hand, wrist, or tendon injuries.

You’ll discuss your traumatic injury plan with your Plastic + Hand surgeon. During your initial consultation, your surgeon will evaluate your medical history, symptoms, and discuss the best procedure for your diagnosis.  

After this personalized consultation, our scheduling and pre-authorization team will work with you and your insurance company to ensure the treatment is covered and scheduled in a timely manner.