Thursday Night Lights: Dr. Coffey on Metacarpal Fractures

Host: Welcome back to the OrthoNebraska halftime show. It’s only fitting that we talk to OrthoNebraska, and every time we get a doctor on, we learn something new. I don’t think we’ve repeated a subject in all the years you’ve been doing this, so thank you, by the way. This is Dr. Michael Coffey, and we’re going to talk about metacarpal fractures. It’s a mouthful. What is that?

Dr. Coffey: The metacarpals are the bones of the hand, these bones right here [gestures to hand], one for each of our fingers and our thumb. You can break that bone, and it’s a very commonly fractured bone. In football, it typically happens when the hand hits something really hard, like a helmet or pads, or when somebody lands on it. It’s a very common injury we see this time of year during football season.

Host: As an orthopedic surgeon, how do you diagnose it?

Dr. Coffey: Typically, if a player is injured on the field, the athletic trainers will take a look at it. I or one of my colleagues will usually be on the sidelines, so we can take a look as well. But the true diagnosis is made when you come see us at OrthoNebraska and we get an X-ray.

Host: Once it’s diagnosed, what are the next steps?

Dr. Coffey: Depending on what the fracture looks like on X-ray, it can be treated with surgery, or more commonly, without surgery. That depends on whether the bones keep their normal shape or end up displaced. A lot of the time when we treat them without surgery, we can put players in a cast, the athletic trainers can pad it up, and they can actually play football with it. It typically takes about six weeks to heal, whether it needs surgery or not, and it’s usually not a season-ending injury.

Host: All right. Well, this is an interview-ending injury, and with that, we’re going to go to NFM.