Ms Michelle Razo is honoured and delighted to officially announce a new pathway for people living with thumb arthritis in Northern Ireland. Working together with Mr Zafar Naqui, Consultant Hand and Wrist Surgeon, who has performed over 150 thumb CMC joint replacements, they have made access to specialist assessment and modern CMC joint replacement using the TOUCH® prosthesis easier for patients here. The Belfast to Manchester CMCJ pathway is Hand Therapy first.
Many people with thumb arthritis improve significantly with specialist non-operative treatment alone. That is where every assessment starts and for many people, that is where it ends.
Where imaging is needed, this can be arranged locally in Northern Ireland.
If surgery is the right option, it takes place with Mr Naqui in Manchester or Cheshire. After that, care comes home. Routine wound care, scar therapy, splinting and rehabilitation all take place in Belfast, avoiding repeated travel to Manchester.
This is a Consultant Hand Therapist-led arthritis clinic. That shapes the whole pathway.
The aim is not to move people towards surgery. It is to make sure that people living with thumb arthritis in Northern Ireland understand their options, receive the right treatment at the right time and can make an informed choice about their care.
Full details of the pathway, including what to expect at each stage, are on the thumb joint replacement page.