finger still numb after drainage (MRI, sinus, x-rays, painful)
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I had a mrsa staph infection which was drained by a plastic surgeon who was called into the ER I drove to in July 2014. The finger is still noticably swollen and there is no feeling (tingling and cold and sometimes painful). I also had another mrsa infection the previous year in a different finger and it was fine a few weeks later with no issues.
Can something be done to get my feeling back? I hate the way it feels. It is hard to work, or even play my guitar (when I have time to). It is cold and when it is cold out, it finger hurts more than usual. I am afraid the doctor cut my nerves or something. I hope this is not going to be this way for the rest of my life but I have a feeling that if it hasn't changed in over a year, I am stuck with this. I wonder if another doctor could correct this.
I had a mrsa staph infection which was drained by a plastic surgeon who was called into the ER I drove to in July 2014. The finger is still noticably swollen and there is no feeling (tingling and cold and sometimes painful). I also had another mrsa infection the previous year in a different finger and it was fine a few weeks later with no issues.
Can something be done to get my feeling back? I hate the way it feels. It is hard to work, or even play my guitar (when I have time to). It is cold and when it is cold out, it finger hurts more than usual. I am afraid the doctor cut my nerves or something. I hope this is not going to be this way for the rest of my life but I have a feeling that if it hasn't changed in over a year, I am stuck with this. I wonder if another doctor could correct this.
You need to see another doctor. There could be damage to the nerves caused by the infection. It's not necessarily something the doctor did (although it could be). Just because you didn't have a problem with one finger doesn't mean the other will be the same. Hopefully it can be resolved but you need to see another doctor. I wouldn't wait, if there is something that can be done it's usually best to do it sooner rather than later. Good luck.
What kind of doctor prescribed would I see! Another plastic surgeon? Neurologist? I wouldn't know who to go to.
Yes, more than likely you need to see a Hand surgeon, who is either going to be a Board certified Plastic or Orthopedic surgeon who specializes in Hand (or much more rarely, it's a General surgeon who has sub specialized). Make sure to try and see a fellowship trained Hand surgeon, not a generalist. Usually, in many ER settings, Plastics and Ortho will split Hand call and alternate daily or weekly.
Yes, more than likely you need to see a Hand surgeon, who is either going to be a Board certified Plastic or Orthopedic surgeon who specializes in Hand (or much more rarely, it's a General surgeon who has sub specialized). Make sure to try and see a fellowship trained Hand surgeon, not a generalist. Usually, in many ER settings, Plastics and Ortho will split Hand call and alternate daily or weekly.
To follow up, I went to a board certified plastic hand surgeon as suggested. He took X-rays and told me to get an MRI of the finger, which I'd did. I followed up after two weeks since he wanted me to use a brush to scrub under my lower cuticle with oeroxid and water nightly to see if any of my issues are a result of a infection.
I returned the other night to sinus the MRI results. He said they saw nothing wrong. I asked why I have no feeling in my finger if nothing is wrong. He replied rather oddly... "Awe, you poor guy", you poor thing, and other strange comments. He was almost mocking me. I told him it bothered me and that it is hard to do any work because I can't even feel a screw that I need to pick up. He told me that he ruled out anything like cancer or other life threatening problems. I told him that I can "live with it" but it bothers me and he said, " well, you have no choice but to live with it.
I told him that I just came to him to see if the surgeon who drained my finder may have cut my nerve and if so, he could fix it. He told me that "whatever my colleague did is exactly what I would have done. He further explained that there are millions of microscopic nerves by the tip,of the finger and some must have been cut. He wanted me to make an appointment with a hand therapist in his office where she could help my finger learn to feel again (something like "sensory re-education"). They would have me put my finger in a bowl of uncooked rice and place objects inside such as a nickel, a screw, etc and I would need to guess what it was. I just left there disappointed. What a waste of time and money in co pays, not to mention all hope being lost.
I'm sorry you had this encounter. If I were you, I would obtain my films and seek a second opinion, perhaps from an Ortho or Vascular surgeon this time.
If you had a MRI and the results indicated nothing remarkable, then it is entirely possible that there is, in fact, no surgical intervention that should be done. Therapy might be the best, and perhaps only, course of action. He's accurate in pointing out that the surgeon who saw you initially could very well have done everything correctly, and you still had a bad outcome.
Regardless, if you aren't satisfied with the answer you got from him, see someone else, within the limits of your time and resources, of course.
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