Unlock Your Hand’s Potential. Regain Your Freedom of Movement. 

The inability to fully bend or straighten your fingers and wrist can feel like a prison, limiting your ability to work, perform daily tasks, and enjoy your life. We specialize in diagnosing the complex causes of lost motion and providing advanced surgical solutions to free your hand and restore its capabilities. 

Motion is the Essence of Hand Function. 

From a powerful grip to a delicate touch, fluid motion is fundamental to everything we do with our hands. When an injury, surgery, or condition leaves you with a stiff, “stuck,” or immobile hand, it can be profoundly frustrating and disabling. Understanding the mechanical or neurological reason for your loss of motion is the first step toward reclaiming your freedom. 

Pinpointing the Reason Your Hand is “Stuck” 

Mechanical Blockage (Tendon Adhesions) 

• After an injury or previous surgery, the body’s healing process can create internal scar tissue. This scar tissue can act like glue, “sticking” the normally smooth gliding tendons to the surrounding bone and tissues. When tendons can’t glide, you can’t move your finger or wrist. 

Structural Blockage (Joint Contracture) 

• Sometimes the joint itself is the problem. The lining of a joint, called the capsule, can become thick, stiff, and contracted after a long period of immobilization or from a condition like arthritis. This “frozen” joint capsule physically blocks the bones from moving through their full range. 

Nerve-Related Issues 

• In some cases, the mechanical structures are fine, but the nerve that sends the signal to the muscle has been damaged. Without the “go” signal from the nerve, the muscle cannot contract, resulting in an inability to actively move the finger or wrist (paralysis). 

Sophisticated Procedures to Set Your Hand in Motion 

Tenolysis (Freeing the Tendons)

• For motion loss caused by scar tissue, Tenolysis is the key procedure. This is a meticulous operation where Dr. French carefully dissects and removes all of the scar tissue that is binding the tendon. This frees the tendon, allowing it to glide smoothly once again and restoring passive and active movement. 

Capsulotomy (Releasing the Joint)

• When a joint capsule is the cause of the stiffness, a Capsulotomy is performed. In this procedure, the thickened, tight joint capsule is surgically cut and released. This immediately increases the joint’s available range of motion, which is then maintained with intensive hand therapy. 

Nerve Repair & Tendon Transfers

• If the loss of motion is due to a nerve issue, advanced reconstructive techniques are required. This can involve microsurgery to directly repair a damaged nerve. Alternatively, if a muscle is permanently paralyzed, a tendon transfer can be performed to “re-wire” the hand, using a healthy tendon to restore the lost movement. 

The Delicate Balance of Restoring Motion 

Restoring motion to a stiff hand is one of the most complex challenges in hand surgery. It requires a surgeon who can not only perform a delicate and precise release of all the restrictive tissues, but who also has a deep understanding of the intricate balance of all the hand’s moving parts. Dr. French’s expertise as a Harvard-trained reconstructive plastic surgeon and microsurgeon makes him to manage these complex cases and guide you through the critical post-operative rehabilitation process.