Dr. Rubin is fellowship trained in Pediatric Orthopedics and Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery. He completed his training and received special certification from The Northern California Shriners Hospital and UC Davis Medical Center. Dr. Rubin evaluates, diagnosis and creates an individualized treatment plan for each child.
Dr. Rubin strives to make the kids feel more comfortable and safe which entails kneeling down to talk with them, not wearing impersonal white coats. Our office and staff are child friendly and we make every effort to make families comfortable during their visit. Our child friendly services include color and waterproof casts. Most importantly, we have stickers for the kids when they leave their appointment!
“I like my cast because its red and black and because I can swim with it.”- John E.
“My cast is cool because it glows in the dark!”- Dylan S.
Our Research
Trigger Thumb Release Study
Rubin, R. M., MD
Results
Out of eleven parents that we were able to contact, five had their children’s trigger thumbs released on both sides. The total number of thumbs that were included in this study is sixteen.
Ten of eleven parents stated the following:
- The child’s repaired thumb(s) do have full range of motion.
- Range of motion is equal bilaterally.
- There are/were no complications after the surgery.
- As parents, they are very to extremely satisfied with the performed procedure.
The remaining parent, whose child had both the left and right thumbs operated on, stated the following:
- One thumb has never reached full range of motion, however the other one did.
- This results unequal range of motion on both sides.
- There were no complications after the surgery.
- As a parent, mother is satisfied with a level of 5 out of 10 with the performed surgery.
This concludes to fifteen out of sixteen thumbs being successfully repaired. In these cases children were able to reach full range of motion of their thumbs that is equal bilaterally. Parents are very satisfied with the performed surgeries. The remaining released trigger thumb never reached full range of motion, which resulted in an inequality in range of motion of two thumbs. Due to this patient’s condition of bilateral trigger thumb, the mother was satisfied with the procedure at a level of 50 percent.
| # | Date of Birth | Date of Surgery | Age at Time of Surgery | # of Thumbs | Full Range of Motion | Range of Motion Equal Bilaterally | Complications | Satisfaction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09/15/1993 | 01/11/2005 | 11 | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | Extremely Satisfied |
| 2 | 05/25/1999 | 01/04/2005 | 4 | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | Very Satisfied |
| 3 | 08/25/2000 | 09/13/2005 | 5 | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | 100% Satisfied |
| 4 | 06/28/1999 | 05/22/2007 | 7 | 2 | Yes | Yes | None | Very Satisfied |
| 5 | 08/22/2001 | 12/13/2005 | 4 | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | Very Satisfied |
| 6 | 07/14/2002 | 01/24/2006 | 3 | 2 | 1 Thumb | No | Never Reached Full Range of Motion | 5/10 |
| 7 | 11/01/2005 | 11/14/2006 | 1 | 2 | Yes | Yes | None | Very Satisfied |
| 8 | 02/02/1995 | 03/27/2007 | 12 | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | Very Satisfied |
| 9 | 12/12/2005 | 11/27/2006 | 11 Months | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | Extremely Satisfied |
| 10 | 07/09/2005 | 01/29/2007 | 1 | 2 | Yes | Yes | None | Extremely Satisfied |
| 11 | 10/07/2001 | 06/14/2005 | 3 | 2 | Yes | Yes | None | Extremely Satisfied |
| 12 | 06/22/2000 | 07/12/2005 | 5 | 1 | Yes | Yes | None | Very Satisfied |
Conclusion
This study has revealed that procedures performed by the senior author between December, 2004 and January, 2007 have had very good results with 94% of surgeries providing full range of motion of the thumbs that is equal bilaterally, and complete parent satisfaction. In one case, one of the patient’s thumbs had an increase in range of motion, but was not full compared to the opposite thumb. The other thumb did reach full range of motion. The mother is very satisfied with one thumb and not fully satisfied with the other. Overall, the results show to be very rewarding.