July 21, 2022

About the Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve Clinic

Patients come to the Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve Clinic from a multitude of paths, all with the common thread of complex nerve injuries. Treatment can help simple conditions such as carpal tunnel, as well as severe injuries that leave hands and arms without function. The goal is always to restore patients to a better quality of life.  

When you’re a patient of the Washington University Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve Clinic, here’s what you can expect:

• Specialized clinical care for your individual needs, both non-surgical and surgical.
• Comprehensive treatment at a single location based on a care plan that’s right for you.
• Team-based approach from experts in orthopedic surgery, physiatry, electrodiagnostic, neuroradiology, hand therapy, and peripheral nerve surgery.
  

Complete Care in a Single Visit

Having different specialists greatly benefits our patients by offering a collaborative approach to diagnoses and care plans. We provide a clinical experience where patients can be evaluated for their nerve injury, undergo diagnostic testing (including EMG, nerve conduction testing, and ultrasound), and receive treatment from a hand therapist during a single visit.

Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve Clinic Patient 

While the approach of one specialist might be great, the collaboration of several specialists is often excellent. This is exactly the experience of Lori C., patient of the Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve Clinic. She echoed the sentiment “It takes a village” when discussing the cooperative care she received.

“Christopher Dy, MD, MPH, and his team gave me my life back...plain and simple. After multiple previous nerve surgeries, I had chronic pain in my arm and couldn’t use it. I had almost given up getting any use of my right arm back. Unable to make peace with this outcome though, I began my search for a solution and found it in Dr. Dy's Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve clinic,” Lori explained. When she first met Dr. Dy she was apprehensive to even have her arm touched.

Now, she trusts Dr. Dy and the care team fully. She explained that they accomplished significant progress in the first six months of conservative treatment. The rational, intelligent, and thoughtful way he handled her care made her confident in his surgical approach to restoring function in her arm. Lori shares, “Dr. Dy and his team are a breath of fresh air in how they thoughtfully and methodically approach your care. There is no rush to surgery here, or unilateral thinking, just a collaborative step-by-step approach with the patient's end goal in mind.”

“As a patient, you are treated as a member of the team in the planning and execution of your care plan. The nerve clinic also partners with a fantastic physical therapy group that works in tandem with Dr. Dy ­– communicating, planning, and making any necessary adjustments along the way.” Lori worked with hand therapist Jamie Findeiss, OT CHT, from Athletico Physical Therapy, who she regards as a “godsend.”

It is Lori’s hope that other patients find the Multidisciplinary Complex Nerve Clinic and receive the life-changing care she has experienced. When she became a patient of Dr. Dy’s she was unable to use her arm at all, now, she’s back to cooking, playing with her pups, and looking forward to a new career.

Learn why patients choose WashU Ortho for their care. To schedule an appoint with a hand specialist, call (314)514-2500 or request an appointment online.