Mr Andy Hacker

I am a Consultant Hand and Wrist Surgeon with over 15 years' consultant experience and a practice dedicated exclusively to hand, wrist and peripheral nerve conditions, and a national referral reputation for thumb base arthritis and thumb joint replacement surgery. I am among a small group of surgeons who helped pioneer thumb CMC joint replacement surgery in the UK, and I am often able to offer same-day and virtual consultations, subject to availability. Thumb base arthritis is a particular area of expertise. I've performed over 175 thumb joint replacements over the past seven years, more than 150 of them using the MAÏA® dual mobility system, placing me among the highest-volume users of this technique in the UK. I'm a National Faculty Trainer for MAÏA® , teaching the technique to other consultants on courses I help to run ,several times a year. I regularly receive referrals from hand surgeons and orthopaedic consultants across the UK and overseas, and patients frequently travel significant distances for specialist assessment, second opinions or discussion of advanced treatment options. Among those who have chosen thumb joint replacement surgery with me are orthopaedic surgeons, dentists and sports medicine doctors — a reflection of the trust that fellow healthcare professionals place in my expertise. My philosophy is to recommend surgery only when it is likely to provide a meaningful improvement in pain, function and quality of life. I aim to help patients return to the things that matter most to them, whether that is playing a musical instrument, working with their hands, or simply picking up their grandchildren without pain. Wherever possible, I perform procedures as day-case surgery under local anaesthetic or regional nerve block, and I work closely with specialist hand therapists and physiotherapists to optimise every patient's recovery. I qualified from Newcastle Medical School in 1999 and completed higher surgical training on the South West Thames Orthopaedic Rotation, one of the UK's leading orthopaedic training programmes, including a post at St George's Hospital. I subsequently completed an advanced Hand and Wrist Surgery Fellowship at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney under Professor Michael Tonkin, one of the world's most respected hand surgeons, gaining high-volume experience in complex hand, wrist and peripheral nerve surgery that continues to shape my practice today. In 2011 I was appointed as a substantive Consultant Hand and Wrist Surgeon at Milton Keynes University Hospital, where I have held a busy NHS practice alongside my private work ever since. Over the past 15 years I have established a safe and highly efficent practice, seeing on average, 40 patients in clinc per week, and performing on average 15 operations a week. I perform an average of 40 CMC joint arthroplasties, 125 carpal tunnel decompressions, 40 Dupuytrens disease operations and 30 distal radial frcature fixations annually across my practice.

My surgical practice is dedicated exclusivly to hand, wrist and peripheral nerve conditions: Principal treatments include: • Thumb joint (CMC) replacement, MAÏA™ system • Carpal tunnel decompression • Trigger finger release • Dupuytren's disease surgery • Steroid injections • Finger joint replacement and fusion and other surgeries for arthritis • Ganglion cyst and other hand and wrist mass excision • Tendon surgery • Hand and wrist fracture surgery • Complex hand and wrist reconstruction Other conditions I assess and treat include: thumb base arthritis, wrist arthritis, de Quervain's disease, cubital tunnel syndrome, scaphoid fractures, sports injuries to the hand and wrist, nerve compression syndromes and peripheral nerve disorders. I have published peer-reviewed research in hand surgery and wrist trauma and have presented invited lectures and instructional courses at national and international meetings. Research profile ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4635-9242  I serve on the Oxford Orthopaedic Deanery ARCP panel as both Educational and Clinical Supervisor for orthopaedic trainees, and actively teach resident doctors and medical students from Oxford and Buckinghamshire Medical School. I also teach thumb joint replacement surgery to fellow surgeons on specialist training courses several times each year, reflecting my commitment to advancing standards in hand surgery beyond my own practice.