Today I received an injection in my left [dominant] hand. This has been bothering me — more or less — for seven years. It was x-rayed a few years ago with an assessment of “moderate to severe” arthritis. The time had come to see my friend the orthopedic surgeon to learn about intervention strategies. The surgical options sounded terrible, so Clare & I agreed that the injection — today — was the option to follow.
Consulting my EOB, it was billed and coded as “Aspiration and/or injection of fluid from small joint / Billing code 20600-LT.” Looking up the billing code, I found the following, which describes what happened: “In this procedure, the provider inserts a needle through the skin of a patient and into a small joint or bursa and then uses the syringe attachment to the needle to remove fluid or he may inject a drug into the joint for therapeutic purpose. He performs this procedure without using ultrasound guidance.”
The particular joint in question is “the proximal end of the first metacarpal: ‘1st CMC’ joint for short...carpometacarpal or trapeziometacarpal joint or commonly called the ‘basilar thumb’ joint even though it is not in the thumb proper but at the base of the thumb metacarpal.” More than I needed to know and probably more than you needed to know, but again, 365 is many things to all of us. In the case of this post, it’s a “photo-journal entry” that will be available for me to consult in the future. As I get older and more systems fail, perhaps it will help with my medical history, too! :)
Update. The injection has been highly effective. My friend got the medicine to the right spot for sure! I haven’t resorted to the rigid wrist brace even once yet, though the periodic twinges are beginning to come back after nearly a year.
Retired economics professor (“dismal scientist”). Married 40+ years to the love of my life; we have two grown daughters, both married, two granddaughters and a...
Ouch! Hope it works for you. I got my first plasma rich injection in my left knee last Thursday since the gel injections will last me maybe two months and that's pushing it. Had to pay out of pocket since Medicare won't cover it, but if it works - it was worth it and I'll get the right knee done in a few months.
