Vim & Vigor - Spring 2021 - 8

8
It took about a
month for Jimmie
Holmes to get used
to his prosthetic
hand, but now, he
says, it's second
nature for doing
daily tasks at work
and home.

Phantom Pain:
Real and Curable

we're going to do the best we can,' "
Holmes recalls.

INDEPENDENCE
RESTORED

SPRING 2021 VIM & VIGOR

Find a Hand Expert
at UVA Health

The experts at UVA Hand Center can help
you find relief from constant pain or restore
your function after an injury or amputation.
Learn more at uvahealth.com/hand.

PHOTO BY JACKSON SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

Dr. DeGeorge tried to clear the
infection but found rotted hand
bones and tendons. He explained to
Holmes that his hand would never
function again but that an advanced
prosthetic could give him the function of a hand.
" He always threw options out
there. That's one thing I liked about
Dr. DeGeorge, " Holmes says. Holmes
tested several devices before deciding
on a BeBionic prosthetic hand.
It took about a month to adjust
to life with his bionic hand. Soon,

Holmes was able to use it at work
and for daily activities-from
holding shopping bags and opening jars to zipping up his clothes.
With a few turns counterclockwise,
he can remove the finger device
and attach a rechargeable hook.
" Now, " he adds, " it's just like second nature to me. "
Dr. DeGeorge loves being able to
restore function in a key part of the
body for people like Holmes. " We
interact with the world through our
hands, and when you can't have that
interaction, it really dramatically
affects people, " Dr. DeGeorge says.
" So seeing people on that journey
from problem stage to solution stage
is really quite rewarding. " *

Phantom pain is pain that feels as though
it's coming from a body part no longer
there. This phenomenon, common after
an amputation, was once believed to be
a psychological problem. But experts
now recognize that these real sensations
originate in the spinal cord and brain, and
there is a cure.
UVA Health hand surgeon Brent
DeGeorge, MD, is among a small group
of surgeons nationwide who perform
nerve-transfer procedures on people who
have lost hands, arms or legs. " Anyone
who has had a limb amputation and has
pain, we'd be happy to see them in our
clinic, " he says. " It doesn't have to hurt
every day. "
Dr. DeGeorge is an expert at a procedure known as targeted muscle reinnervation, introduced only in the last
decade. He explains how the technique
works: Our brain sends signals along
nerves to fire certain muscles so we can
move our limbs. When a body part is
removed, some nerves lose their function.
" We give them a new function by transferring the nerves to arm muscles that are
then synced to an advanced prosthesis.
So when a person thinks of firing those
muscles, the muscles generate a signal
that is detected by the prosthesis. It's
pretty cool.
" This work is very rewarding, "
Dr. DeGeorge adds. " We can improve
someone's quality of life pretty remarkably by getting them off of narcotic pain
medication and getting them back to
wearing a prosthetic device. "
http://www.uvahealth.com/hand
Vim & Vigor - Spring 2021

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