21
May
2021
|
11:28 AM
America/New_York

Hand Surgeon Designs New Wrist Implant

The Greenwich Sentinel highlights Scott W. Wolfe, MD, chief emeritus of the Hand and Upper Extremity Service at HSS, for performing the first wrist-replacement surgery using a new implant he co-designed cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), called KinematX™.

Dr. Wolfe explained the “dart-throwers motion” and its significance for successful implants, after decades of studying the movement of the human wrist, he attributes this key movement as a reason why older wrist implants have failed.

One reason the human wrist is capable of such complex motion is that it is actually comprised of two joints…the radiocarpal joint…that needed to be duplicated in order for the new implant to succeed – which was a big a-ha moment for Dr. Wolfe. “And so the design of the prosthesis basically emulates that particular joint, and, in so doing, it allows the dart throwing motion.”

Mark Eisen, who suffered from severe arthritis in his right wrist, traveled to HSS for the successful surgery. “Pretty early on, I realized, you know, this guy is one of the top guys in the world for this,” said Mr. Eisen about Dr. Wolfe.

Dr. Wolfe is optimistic that Mr. Eisen will one day get back to golfing and other activities, and concluded, “We have every reason to believe that this will be an important contribution to science and to clinical practice.”

Read the full article in Greenwich Sentinel.

Additional coverage: Greenwichtime.com and Westfaironline.com.