Thumb Replacement Surgery Restores Equine Vet’s Ability to Work and Live Without Pain

As an equine vet, Graham Fowke needs to use his hands in every aspect of his job. From administering medicine to helping a mare give birth, a vet is the definition of a ‘hands-on’ job.

But when he started to experience pain in his thumbs, which kept getting worse and worse, he was worried that the job he had loved for nearly 30 years would become impossible.

“The pain started at the base of my thumbs,” he explained. “It kept getting worse, but I just carried on. At times, it was excruciating. It prevented me from doing the activities which I loved, like rock climbing, and I was concerned about the impact it would have on my job. I resigned myself to the pain, and I just learned to live with it.”

But then Graham noticed a scar on a friend’s wrist, and they told him they’d had a base of thumb replacement at Sancta Maria Hospital.

“They told me how the procedure had changed their life, and I made some enquiries. I had some X-rays, which revealed that the joint in both my thumbs had become extremely worn and the cartilage had disintegrated, meaning it was bone-on-bone. This meant that any movement resulted in grinding. No wonder it was so painful.”

Graham was under the care of Dougie Russell, an orthopaedic consultant. The operation involved removing the damaged joints at the base of both thumbs and replacing them with an artificial ball-and-socket implant and a titanium stem in the metacarpal bone.

They worked together to ensure the procedures in each thumb took place within six weeks of each other, allowing Graham’s recovery to have minimal impact on his job. 

“The team have been wonderful,” Graham said. “It was really important for me to have the operations close together. Everyone involved in my care has been brilliant, and the operations have been a complete success. I am not in any pain anymore, and I have so much movement in my thumbs. My handwriting has improved, and I’ve been able to paint again. I know I can carry on caring for animals for another 20 years. I have a completely new lease of life – it’s been a game changer.”

While most consultants in the UK have been performing the procedure for the past four to five years, Mr Russell has more than 20 years of experience. The implant used in Graham’s case has recently been granted FDA approval in America, and Mr Russell is now developing a training programme for surgeons in the US.