Conditions and procedures
Common shoulder, elbow,
Common shoulder, elbow,
wrist and hand procedures
Practice-led detail on the conditions we treat surgically at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton — when surgery is recommended, what the procedure involves, what recovery looks like and how patients are followed up.
Start with a symptom
Not sure where to start?
If you don't yet know the diagnosis — just that something is wrong — start here. The symptom guides triage the common diagnoses behind a presentation and link through to the relevant condition and education pages.
- Shoulder Shoulder pain Aching, weakness, night pain, loss of range. Triages the common diagnoses — rotator cuff, impingement, frozen shoulder, arthritis, AC joint, calcific. Read the guide →
- Shoulder Shoulder injury Acute trauma — falls, sport, dislocations, fractures. Triages dislocation, acute cuff tear, clavicle fracture, AC joint separation, proximal humerus. Read the guide →
- Shoulder Shoulder arthritis Wear of the joint surfaces — deep pain, stiffness, lost reach. Covers glenohumeral and AC joint arthritis, cuff-tear arthropathy, and the non-operative-to-replacement pathway. Read the guide →
- Hand Thumb pain Location-led differential — base of the thumb, radial wrist, anatomical snuffbox, ulnar MCP. Triages CMC arthritis, de Quervain's, scaphoid fracture, skier's thumb. Read the guide →
- Wrist Wrist pain Location-led differential by anatomical zone — dorsal, radial, ulnar, volar, and post-fall. Triages scapholunate, ganglion, wrist arthritis, TFCC, carpal tunnel, distal radius and scaphoid fractures. Read the guide →
- Elbow Elbow pain Location-led differential — lateral, medial, cubital tunnel, posterior, and the acute biceps 'pop'. Triages tennis elbow, radial tunnel, golfer's elbow, UCL injury, ulnar nerve compression, bursitis, distal biceps rupture. Read the guide →
- Hand Hand pain Pattern-led differential — catching finger, bent-finger contracture, drooping fingertip, stiff knobbly joints, and the red-flag hand infection. Triages trigger finger, Dupuytren's contracture, mallet finger, DIP and PIP joint arthritis. Read the guide →
Procedures
Surgery by region
For patients who already know the procedure being considered, these pages cover what the operation involves, when surgery is recommended, and what recovery looks like.
- Wrist Carpal tunnel surgery Carpal tunnel release is one of the most common procedures performed at the practice, with patients seen at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton from across Central Queensland.
- Hand Trigger finger release Trigger finger release is a small, day case procedure performed under local anaesthetic at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton.
- Hand Dupuytren's surgery Dupuytren's contracture is treated surgically at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton — open palmar fasciectomy (Dupuytren's contracture release) is the operation most often offered for established contractures.
- Shoulder Rotator cuff repair Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara, a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon (orthoplastic hand surgery, Manchester; shoulder & elbow surgery, Brisbane).
- Shoulder Calcific tendinitis Calcific tendinitis — a deposit of calcium hydroxyapatite within a rotator cuff tendon — is treated at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton when conservative measures have failed.
- Shoulder Shoulder stabilisation Arthroscopic shoulder stabilisation — Bankart-style soft-tissue repair, with capsular shift or remplissage where indicated — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton.
- Shoulder Latarjet procedure The Latarjet procedure — open or arthroscopic — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton for patients with shoulder instability and significant glenoid bone loss.
- Shoulder Shoulder replacement Total and reverse shoulder arthroplasty are performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara, a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon (orthoplastic hand surgery, Manchester; shoulder & elbow surgery, Brisbane).
- Elbow Tennis elbow release Surgery for refractory tennis elbow — lateral epicondylitis — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton when conservative measures have failed.
- Hand Thumb joint replacement Thumb base — carpometacarpal — joint replacement, commonly called a thumb replacement, is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton for end-stage basal thumb arthritis.
- Hand Finger joint replacement Finger joint replacement — arthroplasty of the middle (PIP) or knuckle (MCP) joint — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara for finger joints worn out by osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Elbow Cubital tunnel release Cubital tunnel decompression — surgical release of the ulnar nerve at the elbow — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton for symptomatic ulnar nerve compression.
- Wrist Wrist ganglion excision Surgical excision of wrist and hand ganglion cysts is offered at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton when a ganglion is symptomatic, recurrent after aspiration, or where the diagnosis is uncertain.
- Shoulder Frozen shoulder release Frozen shoulder — adhesive capsulitis — is treated at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton with a graduated approach: hand and physiotherapy first, intra-articular hydrodilatation second, and arthroscopic capsular release for the minority who don't settle.
- Shoulder Subacromial decompression Arthroscopic subacromial decompression — keyhole surgery for refractory shoulder bursitis and impingement — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton when conservative management has failed.
- Shoulder Shoulder bursitis Subacromial bursitis — the usual meaning of 'shoulder bursitis' — is assessed and managed at the practice for patients across Central Queensland, from Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast to Gladstone, Emerald and the Mackay catchment.
- Wrist Scaphoid fixation Percutaneous compression-screw fixation of the scaphoid is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara, a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon (orthoplastic hand surgery, Manchester; shoulder & elbow surgery, Brisbane).
- Shoulder Distal clavicle excision Arthroscopic distal clavicle excision — the Mumford procedure — is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara, a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon (orthoplastic hand surgery, Manchester; shoulder & elbow surgery, Brisbane).
- Shoulder Shoulder replacement for proximal humerus fracture Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty for acute proximal humerus fracture is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara, a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon (orthoplastic hand surgery, Manchester; shoulder & elbow surgery, Brisbane).
- Shoulder Proximal humerus ORIF Open reduction and internal fixation of proximal humerus fractures with a locking plate is performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton by Dr Kieran Hirpara, a dual fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon (orthoplastic hand surgery, Manchester; shoulder & elbow surgery, Brisbane).
- Wrist de Quervain's release Surgical release of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist for resistant de Quervain's tenosynovitis.
- Elbow Distal biceps repair Surgical repair of acute distal biceps tendon rupture, performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton.
- Wrist Distal radius ORIF Open reduction and internal fixation of distal radius fractures — most often using a volar locking plate — performed at Mater Private Hospital Rockhampton.
Make an appointment
Speak to the practice
Speak to the practice
about your injury
Do not see what you need? The practice covers the full range of shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand conditions. The surgery overview and the education library cover every region.
