Dr. George Myo, MD
Dr. George Myo
Dr. George K Myo is an orthopedic surgeon and top hand and upper extremity specialist. He specializes in the surgical treatment of disorders of the hand, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, fractures, and shoulder pain. Dr. Myo has office locations in Goodyear, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert Arizona.
Education:
- Undergraduate, University of Chicago
- Medical Doctor, Northwestern College of Medicine
- Residency training in Orthopedic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.
- Upper Extremity Fellowship, UC Davis
The most common condition Dr. Myo treats is carpal tunnel syndrome. The warning signs of carpal tunnel syndrome are a burning pain in the hand that wakes you up from sleep. Once awake affected people lower the hand and shake it to make the tingling stop. Underlying health conditions can cause carpal tunnel syndrome to appear. For example carpal tunnel syndrome often occurs in pregnancy, only to go away by itself after the baby is born. In other patients bending the wrist at night while sleeping causes compression; the first thing to try for carpal tunnel syndrome is therefore a wrist brace (cock up splint) at night. If carpal tunnel syndrome persists despite the brace then a steroid injection may provide temporary relief and help confirm the problem. At this point an electromyogram (EMG) study is important to prove the problem is nerve compression in the wrist.
In most cases carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve in the wrist and does not go away unless the restriction goes away. If you have persistent hand pain despite night time bracing and injection, and the carpal tunnel syndrome has been confirmed by an EMG study, then surgery is the next step. The surgical procedure to relive carpal tunnel syndrome, carpal tunnel release, is predictable, and highly effective. The traditional surgery is done through an incision in the wrist and base of the hand; a newer approach to carpal tunnel surgery is done through two small “stab” incision in the base and middle of the hand. The surgery is done between the incision through an endoscopic.
Dr. Myo prefers non-operative treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome; however, when surgery is necessary, he offers a minimally invasive endoscopic carpal tunnel release. This minimally invasive surgery allows patients to feel relief and get back to some activities the same day. Thus, the endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery recovery time is days to weeks, compared to traditional surgery from which recovery takes weeks to months.
Both endoscopic and traditional carpal tunnel surgery has a very high chance of success. The burning hand pain at night due to median nerve compression is almost always gone the night of both types of surgery. You can expect your hand numbness to get better after the surgery, but its hard to predict how much better, and many people have some degree of permanent numbness. If you had weakness in the hand before surgery you can expect improved strength; but like numbness, the longer you wait and the more severe the weakness is before surgery the more likely it is you will have permanent weakness.
Endoscopic carpal tunnel surgery has a faster recovery time that the traditional surgery. As the incisions heal hand function gradually returns to normal over days to week. Hand therapy is sometimes helpful but is not typically required to get well. Most patients feel fully recovered after a few days, and can return to light work right away. If you have surgery Friday you can return to office work Monday. Moderate work is restricted for three to six weeks. Heavy work is restricted until the wound has fully healed, usually six to twelve weeks after surgery. Once you are fully recovered the scars after endoscopic surgery are barely noticeable.
Complex fractures of the hand and wrist are treated with pins and casts as needed.
Dr. Myo also treats shoulder pain. He performs rotator cuff repair as well as shoulder replacement.
Dr. Myo was born in the country of Burma in Southeast Asia. His mother, father, and siblings —including his twin sister— are all medical doctors. Dr. Myo is proud to come from a long line of doctors.
