Susan Tinch’s job is hands-on, literally.
As a recreational therapist at Morgan Medical Center, a position she’s held for more than two decades, Tinch uses her hands to help patients engage in everything from physical activity to mind-engaging card games as they travel along the road to recovery.
When arthritis in her thumbs threatened her ability to perform, a game-changing thumb implant surgery at Morgan Medical Center is now allowing her to experience a thrilling recovery all her own.
“Today I’m doing things with my hands that have been almost impossible for years,” says Tinch, who’s found hope and reinvigoration as a result of the procedure.
More than 15 years before receiving the surgery, Tinch began noticing arthritis manifesting in both thumbs. An avid crafter, she found herself unable to complete projects such as leather braiding and crocheting. Eventually the condition dampened her work in her garden when pulling weeds became out of the question. Opening up a bottle, turning a door knob, and other daily activities proved challenging.
“So as the years went on, my list of things that I couldn’t do or couldn’t do without pain was getting longer and longer,” she recalls. “And in my household we had this saying where I would start to do something and it would hurt, and I would just yell ‘thumbs’ and my husband would come do it for me.”
The condition eventually reached a breaking point when Tinch realized she soon wouldn’t be physically able to do her job. This led her to explore treatment options.
While anti-inflammatory injections provided some temporary relief, she wanted a more permanent solution. Although a surgeon said Tinch would be a good candidate for surgery, he explained the most common surgical treatment would be invasive, involving bone removal at the base of the thumb, and the reconfiguration of tendons and ligaments. Although the pain would be gone, her thumbs would look shorter and never be the same as before. Add to it a yearlong recovery process, and the prospect was less-than-attractive to Tinch.
Instead, she opted to receive additional injections from the surgeon, who also prescribed meloxicam, a daily anti-inflammatory oral medication. The surgeon told her this would give her several more years without having to commit to surgery.
After putting surgery aside, Tinch happened to notice a particular display on Morgan Medical Center’s electronic billboard located in front of the hospital. It announced the services of hand surgeon Dr. Thomas Parent, one of Morgan Medical Center’s credentialed physicians, who’s also affiliated with Lake Oconee Orthopedics.
Intrigued, Tinch scheduled a consultation with Dr. Parent. The board-certified surgeon explained another option: a thumb joint replacement featuring the BioPro Modular Thumb Implant. Dr. Parent, the only physician in Georgia that performs the BioPro Modular Thumb Implant procedure, explained that instead of removing the joint, the two-piece implant replaces it by forming a new socket into the bone at the base of the thumb. It relieves pain, and allows the thumb to maintain range of motion, its natural length, and cosmetic appearance, while improving pinch and grip strength. The brisk, one-month recovery period brings an additional, notable benefit.
Once Dr. Parent shared the information with Tinch, she says she immediately knew this was the direction she wanted to go. “It took me a few months to really get my ducks in a row in order to be able to take enough time off to recover, but I was ready,” she recalls.
Although she was experiencing arthritis in both thumbs, Tinch chose to have Dr. Parent focus on her left, non-dominant hand first, assess the results, and return at a later date to treat her right hand.
The procedure, which Tinch ranks as one of the smoothest she’s ever experienced, took place in early April 2025 at Morgan Medical Center. After going under general anesthesia, Tinch awoke to find her hand bandaged and braced. The outpatient setting allowed her to return home the same day. The following day, she returned to see Dr. Parent, who removed the bandages and took a look. Following the doctor’s positive assessment, Tinch’s recovery process continued at a quick pace.
According to Tinch, she took prescription pain medicine for a day and a half post surgery, and that was it. She says she even bypassed additional over-the-counter medications.
By day five, she experienced what she calls a “great range of motion.” Within the first two weeks, she was able to go back to doing all the things she couldn’t do as a result of just having had surgery. At week three, Tinch was starting to see improvements from pre-surgery. This included returning to her garden work and pulling weeds.
After a month of recovery, Tinch returned to work pain-free in her left hand, making doing her job much easier. Incredibly pleased with the results, Tinch is looking forward to having the same procedure on her right thumb in the not-so-distant future.
“Seeing people get well, go home, and get back to their regular life is the most rewarding part of my job as a recreational therapist,” Tinch says. “Thanks to an expert surgeon and a state-of-the-art procedure at Morgan Medical Center, I’m able to start experiencing this for myself, and I’m beyond grateful.”
