Testimonials

Hand

Restoring power to a partially paralyzed hand Louise Hunnicutt's Story Click to read >>>

Musician's hand surgery Margaret Leng Tan's Story Click to read >>>

Wrist

Rebuilding wrist ligaments to restore mobility and athleticism Joel Brochstein's Story Click to read >>>

Nerve

Endoscopic carpal tunnel release to restore hand sensation and strength Monica Bay's Story Click to read >>>

Elbow

Arthroscopically assisted elbow ligament reconstruction Sean Grennan's Story Click to read >>>

Shoulder

Arthroscopic surgery to rebuild an athlete's shoulder Jonathan Messing''s Story Click to read >>>

Restoring power to a weakened hand
Louise Hunnicutt

As a scenic artist working on commissioned projects for television, theaters, museums, galleries and private homes, Louise Hunnicutt is especially reliant on optimal hand health for her profession. When the base of her right thumb started hurting, the painter’s first thought was that she had somehow injured it, although she couldn’t remember any specific incident that would cause such pain. “Over a period of six months I went to eight doctors,” she remembers. Finally diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Hunnicutt received surgery that helped alleviate the pain.

Despite the procedure, however, the muscle at the base of her thumb remained profoundly weak. “My thumb was just hanging there,” says Hunnicutt, who did everything from tying paint stirrers to her thumb to training herself to work with her non-dominant left hand. Eventually, terrible cramps drove her to seek relief with a physical therapist, who in turn recommended that she see Dr. Pruzansky. “He suggested I have a tendon transfer,” she says—a procedure in which an extra tendon from the ring finger is moved to the thumb to compensate for lost muscle power, dexterity and mobility.

After four weeks in a splint and a course of occupational therapy, Hunnicutt’s hand has become once again fully functional. “My hand is just as strong as it was before,” she says. “If it weren’t for Dr. Pruzansky, I would have lost total use of my thumb. For that I will always be grateful.”

Rebuilding wrist ligaments to restore mobility and athleticism
Joel Brochstein

It’s often said that doctors make the worst patients—or at least the most skeptical ones. Pediatric oncologist Joel Brochstein became an exception to the rule after visiting Dr. Pruzansky with a wintertime injury that gave him severe pain in his left wrist. “I took a tumble on the ski slopes and kept on skiing for a week afterwards,” admits Brochstein, who upon returning to his practice in New Jersey sought consultation with a local doctor, who recommended four weeks of immobilization in a cast—with no substantial alleviation of discomfort. As a result, Brochstein—an avid tennis player—was forced to give up his three-day-a-week playing schedule. More significantly, the busy oncologist was prevented on several occasions from harvesting bone marrow from donors due to his inability to scrub for the procedure.

After calling around to New York hospitals for hand surgeon recommendations, Brochstein was reffered to Dr. Pruzansky, who was able to diagnose a triangular fibrocartilage tear, an injury common to skiers who fall on a hyper-extended wrist, as well as severe ligament tears destabilizing the wrist leading to debilitating pain and weakness. Dr. Pruzansky was able to reconstruct the ligaments and repair the tear through an arthroscopically assisted outpatient procedure that demanded only regional anesthesia. “It was actually not bad,” said Brochstein of the surgery. “I was taken care of very professionally. Dr. Pruzansky’s office works like clockwork.” 

After being immobilized in a cast for several weeks, Brochstein had eight weeks of occupational therapy before being cleared for all normal activities. Full recovery for the oncologist has included tennis—“my toss and serve took a while to get back, but now it’s as good as it was before.” As for winter activities, Brochstein admits that since the surgery he has hit the slopes again, only this time “with more caution and trepidation.”

Endoscopic carpal tunnel release to restore hand sensation and strength
Monica Bay

“I’m the poster child for Dr. Pruzansky,” says legal journalist Monica Bay with a laugh.

As a professional whose business is words, Bay does not speak idly: over the past 10 years, she has had seven procedures with Dr. Pruzansky that have included her shoulder, wrists and elbow. While this may sound like a trial to most, Bay has a distinctly philosophical—and uniquely New York—take on things. “When I lived in California I hated sports,” she says, “but after moving to the East Coast I have become a die-hard Yankees fan. One thing I’ve learned from baseball is not to be afraid of surgery.” While baseball and journalism are admittedly vastly different professions, their commonality is, of course, their critical use of hands. As can be imagined, among Bay’s most important activities is using computers to write and edit articles for a leading legal magazine (she is editor-in-chief), and her blog, The Common Scold.

A few years ago, she experienced problems with a cyst at her right wrist, and numbness in her pinkie fingers on both hands.  “The symptoms weren’t as intense as the severe tendonitis I had experienced in the past,” she remembers, “but because typing is essential to my livelihood I didn’t want to take any chances; so we scheduled the surgeries on both wrists. You could call me Little Ms. Carpal.” She ended up having an “open” procedure on her right hand (because of the cyst), and a less-invasive procedure on her left hand.

A result of the compression of the median nerve by the finger’s flexor ligaments as it passes through a small canal in the wrist, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a particular specialization of Dr. Pruzansky, who is one of the country’s pioneers in a minimally invasive procedure known as Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Release. On her left hand, rather than cutting the palm open, Dr. Pruzansky was able to access Bay’s compression via two quarter-inch incisions, which usually leads to a quicker and less painful recuperation—critical factors for a journalist whose livelihood is connected to her ability to type. Both procedures had speedy recoveries, but Bay is especially enthusiastic about the second surgery. “You can’t even see the scars,” she notes. “I was typing within days.”

“Everything Dr. Pruzansky has done has worked beautifully,” says Bay. “I’m pain-free, and while I still am not fond of hospitals, I’m no longer afraid to face surgery. I jokingly call Dr. P my ‘auto repair shop,’ and all my tune-ups have been a complete success!”

Musicians' hand surgery Margaret Leng Tan I recommend Dr Mark Pruzansky as the premier hand specialist for musicians. He is the person I trust and consult regarding any matters concerning my hands. Margaret Leng Tan, pianist and toy piano virtuoso

Arthroscopically assisted elbow ligament reconstruction
Sean Grennan

New York–based actor and playwright Sean Grennan’s joint problems began 30 years ago when he dislocated his elbow during wrestling practice at Northwestern University. “I was so tough back then that a few weeks later I wrestled in the league championships,” he recalls with a laugh. Thirty years later, however, things were a bit different when he launched on a fitness regime that entailed lifting weights. The familiar but unwelcome pain at his elbow joint that resulted soon had Grennan seeking medical help. Frustrated after hearing from one doctor that nothing could be done, he set about to find a highly regarded elbow specialist and was referred to Dr. Pruzansky. “At the same time my wife was on a plane and saw a write-up in an in-flight magazine about Dr. Pruzansky,” he says, “so I took it as a sign.”

Upon initial examination as well as an MRI and CT scan, it became clear that not only did Grennan suffer from the residual effects of his college injury in the form of a chronic tear in his medial collateral ligament, he had also developed osteoarthritis that limited his ability to extend his arm. “By this point it was hard to put on a shirt in the morning,” he recalls. Treatment came in the form of an arthroscopically-assisted procedure during which Dr. Pruzansky was first able to smooth the surface of Grennan’s arthritic elbow, release contractures and remove loose bodies and then repair and reconstruct his medial collateral ligament using a tendon taken from his forearm - the modern version of the “Tommy John” operation.

Six months later, after extensive physical therapy, Grennan is on his way to regaining normal use of his elbow - a great relief for the active New Yorker, who still enjoys working out at the gym and is active in the New York theater world. “I’ve had to see quite a few doctors in recent years,” says Grennan, “and it has sometimes felt like a factory experience. Dr. Pruzansky was different. There was great communication and a personal connection.”

Arthroscopic surgery to rebuild an athlete's shoulder
Jonathan Messing

Two years ago, University of Arizona economics student Jonathan Messing was on a summer canoe trip when a mishap occurred. “I was showing off,” he admits, “and didn’t see that there was a big rock right next to the boat.” As a result, Messing slammed into it shoulder-first and absorbed the entire shock with his left side. An avid swimmer and basketball player, he quickly sought physical therapy to recover from the physical trauma but with no lasting results. After being referred to Dr. Pruzansky, Messing underwent a battery of range-of-motion tests and scans. He was advised that the best course of action was arthroscopic shoulder surgery—an unwelcome prospect to the busy student, but necessary given the chronic pain and weakness he was experiencing.

“I was relieved at the thought that it would end,” he recalls. During the arthroscopic procedure, Dr. Pruzansky was able arthroscopically to fix his unstable shoulder joint by reattaching his torn cartilage to the socket and simultaneously repairing SLAP and Bankart lesions. “A year after the surgery, I now have 90 percent range of motion” and full athletic use, says Messing, who will graduate this summer and hopes to be an entrepreneur in his native New York. “Before I was at 20 percent. Dr. Pruzansky has been a very good doctor!”