Toe-To-Hand Transfers Improve Function (NAPSA)—One of the most unusual surgeries performed at Shriners Hospital for Children— Los Angeles is a toe-to-hand transfer. According to Neil F. Jones, M.D., a consulting surgeon for Shriners Hospital for Children— Los Angeles, and professor and chief of hand surgery at the UCLA Medical Center, this surgery “can make the hand function remarkably well. However, we cannot give a child a normal hand. This treatment gives the child more function than any other conventional treatment. It also gives the child better sensation than a prosthetic device or artificial limb. “The main goal of the surgery is to allow a child to pinch, pick up small items like M&M’s candy, write, and grasp items like a soda ean.” This surgery was first performed about 1969 to assist an adult who had a traumatic amputation of a thumb. Then, starting in the late 1980s, it was performed on children who were born with hand deformities. Since 1995, approximately 30 toe-to-hand transfers have been completed at Shriners Hospital for Children— Los Angeles, far more than at any other Shriners Hospital. Howit’s done: Ideally, for this procedure, four surgeons are necessary, including two hand surgeons, as well as an orthopaedic resident, an anesthesiologist and two teamsof nurses. Following surgery, children may be seen in the physical therapy department to be fitted for a splint that is designed to keep Mena Suvari, star of the film “American Beauty,” visits with Kinsey, who recently had tendon transfer surgery. their new fingers in place. While these surgeries are not for everyone, the majority of the patients seen at the Los Angeles Shriners hospital are pleased with the results, especially the ability to pick up items and use their hands more normally. For more information on Shriners’ network of 22 hospitals that provide medical care and services totally free of charge to children with orthopaedic problems, burns and spinal cord injuries, write to Shriners International Headquarters, Public Relations Dept., 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607 or visit the Web site at www.shrinershq.org. Treatment is provided to children under age 18 without regard to race, religion or relationship to a Shriner. If you know a child that Shriners can help, call 1-800-2375055 in the United States or 1- 800-361-7256 in Canada.
