Floyd Memorial Hospital & Health Services

July 3, 2007 began as a typical summer day on the Hemmelgarn’s farm in St. Henry, Ohio. But for Mary Ann Hemmelgarn, it was the start of an experience that nearly changed her life forever.

“My husband and I were baling straw and all I did was trip,” she explained. “But when I put out my right hand to catch myself, I fell on it. The break was so bad there was actually a bone coming out of my wrist.” The couple drove to a nearby hospital where the doctor said it was the worst break he’d ever seen. “He tried to build the wrist back up with bone putty,” she said. “He put in plates and an external cage. But the procedure wasn’t successful.” After two more procedures failed, she was told her only option was to fuse the bones, which would cost her the ability to move her wrist. “We traveled to a major orthopedic clinic in Dayton hoping for better news,” she said, “but they said there was nothing they could do.”

A Chance Visit Sparked Hope

In mid-September, an old friend stopped by the gas station that Mary Ann and her husband operate. “She saw my wrist and told me about a friend whose hand and wrist had been badly injured in an automobile accident,” said Mary Ann. “She said her friend went to a doctor she called the best hand specialist in the country and had excellent results. His name was Dr. Luis Scheker. I called Dr. Scheker’s office right away and the nurse told me I might be eligible for a prosthesis the doctor had invented.”

The Surgery Was a Wonderful Success

Luis Scheker, MD, a hand, plastic and reconstructive surgeon, is a native of the Dominican Republic, who came to the United States from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1982 to study with the Kleinert Kutz group, and has stayed ever since. Dr. Scheker found that part of Mary Ann’s wrist joint was soft and mushy, and much of the rest had been destroyed. Yet, he was confident he could help. As he explained, “It took a two-step procedure. During the first part, I performed a bone graft and made repairs, including releasing her carpal tunnel. In the second procedure, we implanted the distal radioulnar joint prosthesis at the wrist, replacing the joint allowing motion and lifting capabilities.” He performed the surgery on an outpatient basis at the Kleinert Kutz Surgery Center in Affiliation with Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany. According to Mary Ann, “I can’t believe the difference the surgery made. My therapy is going so well. You can’t imagine what you do with your hand until you can’t do it any more. I’m getting more strength and movement every day. It’s like Dr. Scheker has given me my life back!”

The Revolutionary Total Wrist Replacement

In Dr. Scheker’s experience with patients who sustained serious wrist trauma or suffered from certain diseases of the wrist, he found no prosthesis or surgical technique that would restore patients’ range of motion and normal, pain-free weight-bearing ability. He spent years developing a prosthesis that restores the integrity of the load-distributing system of the wrist and provides an alternative to fusing the bones in place; a painful and disabling condition called “one-bone forearm.” The prosthesis has proven effective in relieving pain and improving function in a large group of patients crippled by arthritis, accidents, tumors, congenital abnormalities or by a variety of previous failed salvage procedures.

“I was devastated. My hand was just hanging there. But Dr. Scheker and his wrist replacement have given me back my life! I can paint and lift and even decorate wedding cakes. And, my hand looks normal again.”

-Mary Ann Hemmelgarn
Total Wrist Replacement Patient

“Mary Ann was determined to get better. She put her heart into her therapy. She has the tremendous discipline, drive and work ethic of a farmer. You give her something and she makes the most of it.”

-Luis R. Scheker,
MD Specialist in Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Kleinert Kutz Surgical Center in Affiliation with Floyd Memorial Hospital Assistant Clinical Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Louisville

Many Outpatient Procedures Available at Kleinert Kutz Surgery Center Kleinert Kutz Surgery Center in Affiliation with Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services provides same-day surgical procedures that offer patients world-class care in a convenient, comfortable setting.

Procedures offered at the center, located at I-265 and Grantline Road, include the following:

• Hand surgery
• Surgery of the arm and forearm
• Foot and ankle surgery
• Plastic and reconstructive surgery
• Ear, nose and throat surgery

The staff is also prepared to care for patients with hand injuries on an emergency basis.