TFCC tear in wrist ...?????

i had an mri scan and it showed a substansual tfcc tear... im only 21 and when he said it was worn .. i was shocked.
im a little worried about the surgery i already had 4 months of working at a supermarket... i wear i splint i have had three sets of anti imflamatory drugs and a cortazone shot in my wrist which hasnt helped... im worried because i am a fine art student specialised in painting .. right now i cant paint its painfull and swollen and stressfull to see my money at uni wasting away ..... ive also had acupuncture with no change its working on 5 months rest and no better i will go ahead with surgery but will it go and whats the process and after am i in a cast ???? rachel:mad::(

Hello Rachell,

If its still causing you difficulty and you've tried injections then surgery is the way to go. I don't have much experience with TFCC injuries but I would imagine it would follow a similar timeline, etc as meniscal surgery (structure in your knee somewhat similar to TFCC). If so your probably looking at 3-4 weeks before you have full use of it again but after 2weeks you should see improvement. A lot will depend on how bad the tear is, where exactly it is and what other structures are damaged. The surgeon should be able to tell you all this.

I would like to know what absolute crook of an accupuncturist took your money and said it would fix your TFCC tear! I'd have time for alternative therapies in general but thats just taking advantage!:mad:

the physio done it on the NHS it was an experience but then it was not known what the pain was. all the surgeon told me was it two main bones in my wrist ... surposedly there is a piece of leigamant laying across these and that is were the tear is (sorry its a bit hazy) this is why i was confused ... he said i would have four cuts on my hand and a camera inserted to see exactly what was wrong if nessersary they would fix there and then im hoping it works but as u do ... the internet had some scare stories on here and i just wanted to clear it up .... sorry if it doesnt make sense x

Hi Rachel,

Apologies for the rant about the accupuncture I was under the impression that it was done after you were diagnosed with TFCC tear.

A lot depends on your dignosis and what exactly is damaged. If its just the TFCC then I would be quite optomistic. It becomes a little more complicated if ligaments are damaged and some wrist bones are unstable ('loose') but again its usually correctable.

I wouldn't worry too much about the scare stories on the net, with the number of people using the net your always going to get a handfull that had difficulties out of the thousands that got the surgery . I would imagine that people (majority) that had successful surgery have more to do then post stuff on the net saying 'Went for surgery......went well......off playing golf now......' :D

The best thing to do is weigh up all your options, get all the info off the Doctor (and dont put up with being brushed off!) and make your decision. If you decide not to go with surgery then so be it but if you choose to do the surgery then once the decision is made you need to put all the worry out of your head as it wont change the outcome of the surgery. I know it sounds korny but try and have a positive attitude about it.

Anyway all the best and hope the painting goes well for you in the future.

Rachel, hope you can recover soon.
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