Phyllis Chang, MD
Hand and Plastic Surgery of Iowa
604 5th Street | PO Box 5036 | Coralville, IA 52241 | Telephone: (319) 358-8788 | Fax: (319) 351-9278
Hand Surgery
Hand surgery is an extremely complex and difficult field, in which Dr. Chang in an expert. The many nerves, muscles, bones and tissues of the hand are what make our hands so indispensable in daily life.
Dr. Chang performs elective surgery for carpal tunnel, trigger finger, arthritis, and burn reconstruction. She also handles many cases of industrial and farm accidents resulting in hand injuries of nerve, tendon, bone, joint, skin and soft tissue.
For more information about Hand Surgery go to "Patients & Public" section of American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Dr. Chang uses a post-operative pain management protocol modified from a protocol introduced by Dr. David Nelson:
- I discuss the issue of pain before surgery.
- I try to perform the surgery in the least painful manner gentle with the tissue.
- I place a long-acting numbing shot into the area of surgery before and after the surgical procedure.
- The patients take Tylenol (acetaminophen), with a maximum dose of 4000 mg per day. This continues for three or so days, until they feel they do not need it. A stronger pain medication is provided, if needed.
- I ask the patient about their pain when they come back to the office to learn how to improve our methods
Dr. Chang also uses Electro-Acuscope and Electro-Myopulse treatments, as needed, when patients have pain and swelling after Hand Surgery. These instruments provide painless, low intensity electrical stimulation to rebalance the normal electrical charge held by tissue. In this way that injured tissue can heal in a shorter time period.
Click here for pain management information.
Designed for Phyllis Chang, M.D. by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons