Patient Home Therapy & Wound Care Instructions

Follow these instructions only when the surgeon tells you it is O.K. to do so. You can maximize your hand's motion and minimize the scar by following these instructions in addition to any instructions the hand therapist may give you. Fill the sink with warm water three times daily. You need not add anything to the water. Soak the hand for 15 minutes and squeeze a dish sponge in the water. Afterwards, massage all the wounds very firmly with hand lotion. The type of hand lotion is not important rather, the pressure from the massage remodels scar tissue. This intermittently applied pressure can actually flatten out scar tissue for several months after surgery, similar to the way compression garments minimize burn scars. Scar tissue reaches its peak between the fourth and sixth post-operative weeks and, typically, this is the time period in which the wound looks it worst. During this time, it is most red, firm and tender. This is the natural healing process, and attention to the massage three times daily for at least two months will desensitize the wound and minimize the scar. Any injury to the hand, whether it be traumatic injury or surgical trauma, causes the hand to swell. As it does so, the ligaments and joint capsules