by Newswise July 21, 2021
Heidi Spyridakis, MOT, OTRL, CHT, CKTP works with Henry Ford
Health System's first total wrist replacement patient. Metro Detroit Woman is Recipient of First Total Wrist Replacement Surgery at Henry Ford
Newswise — DETROIT – For the past 21 years, Keisha Triplett lived with pain in her left wrist that limited her quality of life. After undergoing total wrist replacement surgery on May 4, 2021 at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, Triplett is on her way to recovery and a return to a more normal, pain-free life.
Also referred to as total wrist arthroplasty, the surgery involves replacing a severe arthritic wrist joint with an artificial joint made of metal and plastic components. The procedure relieves pain and restores function when all other treatments fail to provide relief.
Triplett’s procedure was the first to be performed at Henry Ford Health System by Charles Day, M.D., Chief of Hand & Upper Extremity Surgery for the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.
“For a long time, I didn’t know what was causing the pain,” said Triplett. “My wrist was constantly hurting and so weak that I could do very little with my left hand.”
Since 2005, Triplett dealt with constant pain and swelling in her left wrist from rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that can cause joint pain and damage throughout the body. The swelling and pain continued to the point where she had little use of her left arm and could no longer wear her wristwatch on her wrist.
“I couldn’t wash dishes, fold laundry, make my bed or hold a cup of coffee in the morning. Even the simplest motion like opening a bag of chips was too painful,” said Triplett. Worst of all, last year she couldn’t hold her 1-year-old grandson.
In February 2020, she decided she couldn’t continue to live with the pain and met with Dr. Day to have x-rays taken. Imaging showed that Triplett had no cartilage in her left wrist causing the bone-on-bone pain she had been experiencing for so long.