His Patients are Coming from Far and Near
When patients are willing to drive a long way to see you, you know you must be doing something right. Dr. Keith M. Nord is an orthopedic hand surgeon based in rural Jackson, Tennessee. Since transitioning from performing mini open and endoscopic carpal tunnel release (CTR) surgeries to becoming the only surgeon in the area performing CTR using real-time ultrasound guidance, his procedural volume has skyrocketed. So much so that he has had to open up another half-day at the surgery center.
“I’m about two hours from Nashville and an hour and a half from Memphis. Patients usually go from rural areas to the big city for medical procedures, but my patients are going the opposite direction because this ultrasound-guided procedure is in such demand,” says Dr. Nord. “Without a doubt, carpal tunnel release with Sonex Health’s UltraGuideCTR™ has been a practice-building event.”
Ultrasound was Always Compelling
Dr. Nord says he has always been interested in ultrasound. During his residency, he’d explore the ultrasound machine the anesthesiologist used to perform nerve blocks. “I’d look at the rotator cuff on a shoulder and do a shoulder scope just to see what I could pick up from that. By the time I did my fellowship, I became the ‘go-to guy’ for ultrasound. I’d get calls from other surgical staff to come and quickly check something for them,” recalls Dr. Nord.
That’s why he was so intrigued when hearing about CTR using real-time ultrasound guidance (CTR-US). He visited Sonex Health’s website, filled out a contact form, and heard back right away. He says the training and support provided by Sonex Health has been nothing short of incredible.
Now, two years later, Dr. Nord has performed more than 200 CTR-US procedures and has recently begun offering trigger release with Sonex Health’s UltraGuideTFR™ device, also using real-time ultrasound guidance. He is thrilled with the fast recovery these minimally invasive approaches bring for his patients.
Faster Recovery
“There are a lot of patients who have been putting off carpal tunnel surgery,” he says. “They’re suffering with it, waking up every night, but they just don’t have the means or time it takes to recover from traditional surgery. With ultrasound, they now have an option that lets them get back to work much quicker.”
He says the other benefit is that this approach does not typically require sutures. “I just place a Steri-Strip and tell patients to keep the area clean.”
Dr. Nord recalls a patient who drove from Nashville to receive CTR with ultrasound guidance on both hands. “He is an electrophysiologist, so he was very well read on this procedure and was eager to have it done. He had simultaneous bilateral carpal tunnel releases and then tiled his bathroom three days later and was able to return to work immediately.”
Congratulations to Dr. Nord
Dr. Nord’s dedication to providing the best patient outcomes is why he has recently been named a Center of Excellence physician by The Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures and Sonex Health— a distinction that brings him great pride.
“I’m just so proud of our group and our practice for supporting me in this endeavor in bringing this technology to Tennessee. It’s so rewarding for my staff knowing we are doing good things for patients.”
Learn more about The Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures and our training programs to begin your MSK ultrasound training today.