John Flynn Hospital - Learn Ways to Find a Good Hand Surgeon

When a person is suffering from hand problems, taking special care is exceptionally crucial. The reason behind it is the fact that the hand is quite a complex structure. A hand surgeon must have the skills and expertise in providing the care that is necessary for doing the surgery. 

When looking for a good surgeon in the John Flynn Hospital, it is essential to remember that the doctor is supposed to provide the patient with a thorough guideline regarding the various treatment options so that the functions of the hand can be preserved. 

It is not easy to find a surgeon in the city, especially with so many options online. In order to help people out, there are a few pointers that need to be kept in mind when choosing a hand surgeon. 

Getting Referrals 

People can start by asking their primary care doctor at the John Flynn Hospital or any other hospital for referrals. Asking other healthcare professionals, friends, and family for references would be a great idea. One can take time to research more about doctors. It will help in knowing the various options that are available in the city. 

Research on the Credentials 

Another essential step that must not be missed out when looking for any doctor is to research more about the credentials for the surgeon. The certification is highly crucial in choosing the right doctor. 

Certification will allow one to know where the doctor got its training and allow let people know if he/she has the necessary skills and training for performing the surgery. It can also be helpful to find out if the doctor is not subject to any malpractice. Researching about the training hospital, medical school, and disciplinary history would only get one closer to finding the right person. 

Considering the Surgeon’s Experience 

When it comes to dealing with complex problems related to the hand and restoring its function, the experience of the surgeon performing the surgery will matter a lot. The more experience one has, the chances of better results would be higher. In hand surgery, the doctor has to diagnose and treat problems related to the elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand. When going for John Flynn Hospital Goal Coast, it is crucial to find out the history of patients who were treated by the doctor. It could include the number of patients, the kind of problems, etc. 

Considering Gender 

It may not be a significant factor, but a patient needs to feel comfortable with the surgeon performing the surgery. When it comes to discussing personal information, not everybody will be comfortable with all hand surgeons. However, it may not be a big issue. Check that the hospital or doctor specializes in providing gender-specific care, mainly because the care and treatment could vary between the genders. 

Dr. David Graham is one of the well-recognized surgeons in John Flynn Hospital Gold Coast. With years of experience in his hand, it takes the utmost care in handling patients with complex hand problems. People who want to restore the functioning of their hand must consider Dr. David Graham.

Signs That You Need To See a Hand and Wrist Specialist

The hand and wrist specialist are also known as orthopaedic doctors. It is a field of medical science which looks after your bones, muscles, and joints. So, when you have an injury, disease, or medical conditions related to any of these, the orthopaedic doctor comes into the picture. Many people assume that in case of an injury, taking rest for a few days is enough; however, you must see an orthopaedic doctor so that the pain or injury doesn’t progress any further. 

In case you are looking for a hand and wrist specialist, Dr David Graham is one of the best doctors in the John Flynn Hospital. With his years of experience and expertise, he makes the treatment quite easy and comfortable experience for the patients. 

How is the first appointment with a hand and wrist specialist?

If you are meeting an orthopaedic specialist, it doesn’t mean you need surgery, or you can meet them only for consultation on surgery. The specialists always try conservative methods of treatment before surgery. Whenever possible, they suggest physical therapy or prescription medications. If your injury doesn’t respond to any of these treatments, then the doctor may consider surgery. Some signs that you may need surgery are as follows:

• Consistent swelling in joints which refuses to go
• A deformity in bone or broken bone
• Instability of joints
• Decrease in the range of motion which doesn’t improve with strength training

You don’t simply go and meet an orthopaedic specialist; the chances are that your regular physician or physical therapist may advise you to see them. In this case, it is important to offer your doctor as much details as possible about the injury or pain. You must discuss your expectations about the treatment or surgery with the specialist as they will let you know if you have realistic expectations or not. Also, you must know that though surgery improves your condition, it doesn’t offer the same range of motion that you had before the injury. 

The doctor may ask certain questions for evaluating your overall health such as the medications that you are taking, your current health conditions and past surgeries. If you are a smoker, you may be advised to stop smoking a few days before the surgery and during the recovery phase. 

How to avoid injury in future?

Following doctor’s recommendations and below-mentioned tips can help in avoiding injuries in future:

• You need to make sure that you stretch and warm-up before you do any physical activity and cool down afterwards. 
• You must begin a new fitness routine for giving your body a chance to get used to it.
• You can consider total body conditioning for increasing the mobility, strength, and flexibility of the body.
• Your level of fitness and age should be taken into consideration when deciding a fitness routine. 

For any orthopaedic treatment, John Flynn Hospital is one of the best medical centres with state-of-the-art technology and experienced doctors, which offer excellent medical care. 

Types of Hand Surgeries at John Flynn Hospital Gold Coast

The human hand is one of the most complex human body structures. Every person needs his hand to perform optimally. However, certain traumatic events, accidents, injuries, infection, arthritis or even certain pathological processes may hinder the optimal functioning of the hand. This is when visiting an orthopaedic hand surgeon Like Dr. David Graham at John Flynn Hospital Gold Coast, or Pindara Hospital Gold Coast can prove to be a lifesaver.

There are many alternative kinds of surgeries that may be performed on the hand, counting on the underlying reason behind the problem. The following is a brief summary of a number of the categories of surgery that may be performed:

Closed reduction and fixation:

This technique could also be used once there's a fracture in part of the hand, as well as the fingers. This type of surgery tries to align the broken bone then immobilize the area during the healing phase. Immobilization will be done with internal fixtures, like with wires, rods, splints, and casts.

Tendon repair:

Repair of connective tissues remains a surgical challenge owing to the structure of the tendon. Tendon injuries can occur because of infection, trauma, or spontaneous rupture. Repair of connective tissue is also classified as primary, delayed primary, or secondary. Primary repair of an acute injury is sometimes completed within twenty-four hours of the injury. Delayed primary repair is sometimes performed a couple of days after the injury while there is still an opening in the skin from the wound. Secondary repairs might occur 2 to 5 weeks or longer after the injury. Primary repairs sometimes involve direct surgical correction of the injury whereas secondary repairs might embody connective tissue grafts (inserting tendons from different areas of the body in place of the damaged tendon) or other more complex procedures.

Nerve repairs:

There are 3 main nerves that innervate the hand, together with the ulnar nerve, the median nerve, and the radial nerve. Damage to those nerves from injury might lead to reduced ability to manoeuvre the hand and experience feeling. Some nerve injuries might heal on their own while others require surgery. Overall, about 3 to 6 weeks after the injury is the best time for nerve repairs that are associated with different, more complicated, injuries. Surgery to analyze a broken nerve that's not complicated by alternative injuries is sometimes performed early after the trauma, to increase the chance of a full recovery.

Surgical drainage and/or debridement:

Our hands are perpetually in danger of injury and infection. Infections of the hand are a typical reason individuals ask for treatment. The treatment for infections to the hand may include rest, use of heat, elevation, antibiotics, and surgery. Surgical emptying could also be used if there's a symptom in the hand of gathering of pus. Debridement, or cleansing of a wound to stop more infection and assist promote healing could also be used if the infection or wound is severe.

Dr. David Graham is an orthopaedic hand surgeon who also specializes in wrist surgery and hand and microsurgery. His expertise at John Flynn Hospital Gold Coast and Pindara Hospital Gold Coast provides streamlined and optimized care for any hand condition with a promise for a substantial recovery and a healthy future.

Hand and Wrist Specialist: Doctor David Graham

Hand surgery is a specialized area of surgery which has skill sets derived from Orthopaedic, General and Plastic surgery. Hand surgeons originate from each of these three surgical specialities. In some countries, hand surgery is a distinct surgical entity on its own right.

Dr. David Graham is an Australia-based orthopaedic specialist and surgeon specialising in wrist, hand and microsurgery for adults and children. The experience and training of Dr. Graham include reconstructive and acute surgery for wrist and hand. This includes fracture management, trauma, tendon surgery (also tendon transfers), free flap and microvascular surgery and nerve surgery. He also specializes in elective surgeries to manage conditions like trigger finger, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, Dupuytren’s and de Quervains disease.

For a consultation, Dr. Graham operates out of the Gold Coast Centre for Bone and Joint Surgery (14 Sixth Ave Palm Beach QLD 4221), Queensland Children’s Hospital (Formerly Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital) and specialist role at the Gold Coast University Hospital. He is one of the best Gold Coast orthopaedic specialists and can be reached at drdavidgrahamhandsurgeon.com.au.

Dr. Graham’s educational qualifications and surgical training speak volumes about his skills. He graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) and proceeded to also complete a Bachelor of Surgery and Bachelor of Medicine at UQ.

After this, he completed advanced training in Orthopaedic surgery in NSW. After Orthopaedic training, Dr Graham finished the Hand, Wrist and Microsurgery fellowship at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

Dr. Graham has also a checkered international career. He finished advanced training as a visiting hand, wrist and microsurgery fellow at the Ganga hospital, in Coimbatore, India. He has also been trained at Irvine/Shriners Hospital Los Angeles, Children’s Hospital of Orange County and the University of California.

Dr Graham has also worked as an orthopaedic hand specialist in many countries like travelling to visit and work with hand surgery professors in Santander/Madrid, Spain and Niigata, Japan.

This eminent doctor worked as a consultant Hand Wrist and Microsurgeon at Fairfield Hospital –South Western Sydney Hand Centre and also at Sydney/ Sydney Eye Hospital – Sydney Hospital Hand Unit, before returning to Queensland.

Serving as among the leading Gold Coast orthopaedic specialists, Dr. Graham also has a strong interest in research and teaching. He holds academic titles with the Griffith University, Bond University and University of Queensland medical schools. He has many peer-reviewed, published research papers in hand and orthopaedic surgery and also presents papers at international, national and local conferences in hand surgery.

He often travels overseas on a regular basis on subject-based outreach trips, with the objective of to offer high-quality healthcare to maximum persons and help in the training of local surgeons and surgical trainees. These include destinations like Nepal, Cambodia and Fiji.

The field of paediatric hand surgery includes both congenital and traumatic surgery. It is an extremely divergent area. Some of the conditions treated include brachial plexus, limb deficiency syndromes, and also other syndromes impacting wrist and hand. Dr Graham consults and operates on children at John Flynn Private Hospital, the Gold Coast University Hospital and Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital (South Brisbane). One can book appointments through his website drdavidgrahamhandsurgeon.com.au.

Orthopedic surgeons in Gold Coast of the best kind

While there may be a lot of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Gold Coast, but if you are looking for the one, who can specifically deal with the hand and wrist related ailments then, Dr. Graham can be the one. One of the best orthopaedic surgeons from the Gold Coast, he is an Australian trained surgeon and specializes in hand, wrist and microsurgery treatments for pediatric as well as adults. 

He has an experience of handling reconstructing and acute surgeries for hands and wrists that include fracture management, trauma, nerve surgery, tendon surgery that includes tendon transfers, fee flap surgery and micro-vascular. Apart from these, he also conducts electic surgeries for managing conditions like the carpal tunnel syndrome, de Quervains, trigger finger, Dupuytren's disease and arthritis. 

John Flynn Private Hospital provides acute care 5 minutes from the Gold Coast in the suburb of Tugun. It famously houses some of the best orthopedic surgeons of Gold Coast. Dr. Graham too consults at the Bone and Joint Surgery in this hospital, while also serving as the visiting medical officer specialist position at Gold Coast University Hospital and the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. 

A brief history on Dr. Graham’s medical education- he completed his Bachelor of Physiotherapy (honors) from the University of Queensland, following which he did Bachelor in Surgery and Bachelor in Medicine at UQ. For completing his advanced training in Orthopedic surgery he went to NSW. After his orthopedic training, he completed his hand, wrist and microsurgery fellowship at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

Like the best orthopedic surgeons of the gold coast, Dr. Graham has not just restricted his training as well as services to a particular region. After training at the North Shore Hospital in Sydney, he was placed at Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, India as a visiting hand, wrist and microsurgery fellow. He completed his training there, as well at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Irvine/ Shriners Hospital Los Angeles. In his pursuit of more international exposure, he traveled to and worked with different hand surgery professors in Madrid/Santander, Spain and Niigata, Japan. All these and his other endeavors throughout the years as an orthopedic surgeon, has inducted him amongst the best in Gold Coast today.

Before he returned to Queensland, he also worked for the Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney Hospital Hand Unit and Fairfield Hospital as a consultant Hand Wrist and Micro surgeon. 

Dr. Graham is a holder of academic titles from Griffith University, University of Queensland and Bond University medical schools. Teaching as well as researching is some of his main interests and he even has multiple research papers that are peer reviewed and published to his credit. He regularly presents at local, national as well as international conferences for hand surgery and regularly makes his Orthopedic outreach tips for providing quality health care to everybody and provide the training to the local surgeons and the surgical trainees at places like Nepal, Cambodia and Fiji.