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Snowdrops, by Cindy Schreiner

Orthopaedic success story at Jones Memorial Hospital

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From Jones Memorial Hospital,

Dr. Ali Mansour, Orthopaedic surgeon, consults with John Adrian about his progress following hand surgery last fall

Wellsville, NY (June 5, 2023) – When John Adrian jammed his pinky on a railing last October, he heard it pop. He figured it was dislocated so continued what he was doing. But the pain continued and his pinky was no longer straight – in fact it drooped to one side – so he knew it was more than a sprain and headed to the nearest Emergency Department.

There X-rays determined that the break was caused by enchondroma, a benign bone tumor that causes the brittleness in the bone it is attached to. In John’s case, his finger was fractured above the knuckle and the bone was crushed and splintered. The x-ray clearly showed that John needed to consult an orthopaedic surgeon. He was advised that he should see someone with hand expertise because “fingers are finicky and if you don’t do them right, they never recover.”

As luck would have it, Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Ali Mansour had recently joined the Orthopaedic team at Jones Memorial Hospital. Dr. Mansour has extensive experience in hand surgery and is very familiar with enchondroma. “The tumor lives in the bone, making it weaker and more prone to break,” said Dr. Mansour. “When a patient has a problem – like John – the tumor will show up on an x-ray. Sometimes the tumor is silent, but sometimes it may cause finger pain or fracture.” After meeting with Dr. Mansour, John was confident that he was in good hands.

Because John’s late wife, Jackie, was undergoing cancer treatment at the time, her appointments were his focus and priority. “Jackie’s appointments came first and the surgery team did everything they could to accommodate me,” he said. “By the time I got to surgery, Dr, Mansour had to re-break my finger and clean out the tumor before putting it back together with pins.”

John started Occupational Therapy a few weeks later at Jones Memorial twice a week. “Kristie Schleigh was wonderful,” he said of his Occupational Therapist. “She evaluated my finger to see how much I could move it and gave me exercises to take home and do between visits. I couldn’t do much of anything so I was glad I could do something productive. She encouraged me to do as much as could. She was a wonderful help – I wouldn’t be as far along without her.”

John’s recovery has gone very well.  The goal of Occupational Therapy is to make both hands the same and John said he is well within that goal and is calling it a full recovery. He continues to do the exercises when he feels it getting stiff.  There is a very small chance that enchondroma could reoccur so Dr. Mansour will continue to monitor and take images of John’s hand.

“If you look at the x-ray now, you don’t see anything,” John noted. “I am so happy with all the team at Jones did for me and continue to do. Jones is a great hospital – Jackie was so right: Jones truly cares and treats you like family.”

From surgery through rehab, Jones Memorial Hospital has a full-range of orthopaedic services.

Find out more on the website: jones.urmc.edu.

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