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It wasn't that long ago that William Newenhisen had a terrible
accident. He stuck his hand into the propeller of a
gasoline-powered model airplane and severed his thumb. "I remember
the shock, the sound and the sight," says William, who has flown his
radio-control model airplanes for 35 years. "I heard a thud.
I didn't feel it, but I did see it...lots of blood and then the
pain. It was a nylon blade, almost sharp as steel."
Dr. Drew Kreegel, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon affiliated
with LMHS, was able to save William's thumb.
 Dr.
Kreegel specializes in plastic and reconstructive surgery, which
includes healing burns, industrial and agricultural injuries or
other afflictions through the LMHS trauma center. Besides
emergencies, he operates on hereditary deformities of the hand, as
well as conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome. He also
specializes in cosmetic surgery.
"Every time I work on hands, I think very close to home," says
Dr. Kreegel. "If it happened to me, I may lose my career.
I need my hands. I'm a surgeon."
Law enforcement officer George Kantor sought out Dr. Kreegel to
correct his condition before his hands debilitated his own career.
George developed dupuytren's contracture disease, where hand tissue
contracts and curls the fingers into the palm in a clawing fashion.
George found his fingers curling in on him and hindering simple
tasks, like putting his hand into his pocket or reaching into a
drawer.
"Your mind tells you your fingers are
straight, but they're not," George says. "They're in the
way."
Dr. Kreegel says hand injuries or
issues are the second biggest concern of patients. "An injury
to the face being an obvious first," Dr. Kreegel says. "But an
injury to the hand so limits your ability to interact with the world
around you. How frustrating to not be able to pick up a pen or
button a shirt."
Dr. Kreegel operated on George's left hand in December,
mobilizing tendons and joints by removing the bad tissue responsible
for tightening the fingers. George's left hand now lays
straight open, and he's moving forward with surgery to relieve the
tension in his dominant right hand, his gun hand.
"Dr. Kreegel instills enough confidence in me, he can do it,"
George says. "He has an air of confidence about him, and that
makes me confident."
For more information, contact Dr. Kreegel's office at
239-343-9777.
Drew Kreegel, M.D.,
FACS
Kreegel
Aesthetic Surgery Center
16410
HealthPark Commons Drive,
Building 2
Fort
Myers, FL 33908
239-343-9777 |
