Dr. James Higgins Performs Innovative Surgery for Kienbocks Disease

James P. Higgins, MD, Chief of the Curtis National Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, is an internationally known pioneer in the treatment of Kienbocks disease, an extremely painful and debilitating condition, for which there is no known cause. https://www.medstarunionmemorial.org/... Kienbocks occurs when the lunate, one of eight small bones in the wrist, loses blood supply, (avascular necrosis) and the bone collapses. Crumbled bone fragments wear down cartilage and cause chronic pain. In a novel approach, first made available in the United States by Dr. Higgins in 2010, a precisely-shaped segment of cartilage, bone and tiny sub-millimeter blood vessels are removed from the knee joint, and transferred to the wrist, to replace the deteriorated lunate bone. The transplanted piece is meticulously reperfused with blood. Dr. Higgins connects the minute arteries and veins from the knee tissue to blood vessels in the wrist with the use of a microscope. Dr. Higgins applies this same approach in the treatment of scaphoid non-union, or fractures that won't heal. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Higgins, call 410-235-5405. For media interviews, call Debra Schindler, regional director of media & public relations: 410-274-1260.