[Its not often that I can report on some good news, but here is something really neat.

My mother has had problem with her hands for several years now and things got progressively worse for her. The loss of medical skills, due to our massive brain-drain is a big concern.

She suffered from a loss of feeling in her one hand which was traced to carpel tunnel syndrome where there is pressure on the nerves in her hand. In her other hand she suffered from a “trigger finger”.

Our GP referred her to an Orthopedic surgeon 18 months ago. He operated and fixed the trigger finger. The carpel tunnel problem did not go away. She did everything including the regular physio-therapy – but her hand did not improve at all.

Then a friend of mine told me about a Professor who specialises in hand problems who fixed the hand of a famous sportsman here in S.Africa.

I phoned the Professor, but did not follow up on it, hoping that the physio would do the trick – but things got worse.

Finally, I took my mother (almost against her wishes), to the Professor. He turned out to be awesome. He even referred her to a neurologist who did some interesting conductivity tests on the nerves of her hand.

Our GP, and even the neurologist said there was virtually nothing one could do for my mother’s hands. The neurologist did however state that anything is worth a shot since the operation is very simple.

I had never been happy with the Orthopedic surgeon my mother went to see. His manner put me off – almost like a used car salesman and I did not like that. So when my mother saw the Professor, I quietly enquired what the Professor thought of the previous op. He looked at the scar and said that the Orthopedic surgeon had cut in the wrong place. The Professor looked at me and asked (quietly mockingly), “Are you sure this wasn’t done by a General Surgeon??” I said, “No!” Then I asked him if he thought the man knew was he was doing and he insinuated that he did not think so.

Many friends of my mother also had carpel tunnel syndrome. One of them went for 2 operations with no relief. So it could be that many of these surgeons who claim they know how to cure carpel tunnel syndrome might not REALLY KNOW!

I was extremely curious to see what the Professor could do. I really had hope that we were dealing with a man who really knows his job WELL!

So yesterday I took my mother to a place I did not even know existed – the Donald Gordon Medical Centre which is run by Wits University. At one point I took a peek in the parking lot where the doctors park and I just saw the parkings marked out for “Professor this” and “Professor that”. I thought that was cool… I’ve never had a Professor of medicine operating on anyone in my family. But I was hopeful that this old man could do good things.

After the operation he told my mother that the nerves in her hand were a complete mess. He had sorted it all out. He told her that she will “feel the difference”.

After the first carpel tunnel op, my mother had no pain – because she had no feeling. But after this 2nd op, the one the Professor did, her fingers were extremely sore! This morning my mother was amazed, despite the pain, for the first time in years she has some feeling in her fingers!

The neurologist discovered with his tests that my mother is developing carpel tunnel in her other hand – but its not too serious.

It is amazing how many older people get carpel tunnel syndrome. So here are some tips which I hope will help you:-

1. Carpel tunnel is due to a pressure on the nerves which occurs between your wrist and just inside your palm. (The Prof operated inside her hand).

2. The first signs of Carpel tunnel are “pins and needles” in your hand especially at night when you sleep. (You might also get a pain in your hands at night if it is bad).

3. Other signs of carpel tunnel are that you cannot hold things properly and the fingers of that hand are not as strong as those of your good hand.

4. When carpel tunnel is bad, the muscle by your thumb “erodes” and flattens.

5. Most importantly: The longer you leave carpel tunnel, the more difficult it is to fix. If you leave it long enough (my mother’s was left far too long), then the damage might be irreversible. So don’t dawdle if you suspect you have it.

It could be that there are many in S.Africa who think they can cure carpel tunnel, but they actually can’t and it is very much a hit-and-miss thing and it seems some people end up going for multiple operations with their hands getting even worse.

It appears to me that this Professor is one of the few who really knows his job – and I am delighted and over-the-moon with the initial results of his work on my mother.

It appears as if, in my mother’s case, she almost had the equivalent of an “electrical short” with the nerves crossing each other.

Its really astounding what medical science is capable of these days, and I was amazed to see the work they are still capable of at the Donald Gordon Medical centre. Its not your “normal” clinic. I think when it comes to real specialist work… they’re damned good. It will soon become a medical research hospital. So I take my hat off to the Professor and the other miracle workers there! Jan]