Welcome to Aurora Plastic & Hand Surgery
Dr. Guinn is a residency-trained plastic surgeon and a fellowship-trained hand surgeon. He is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with a specialization in Hand Surgery. He has extensive experience working both with hands and with the Worker’s Compensation system, dating back to 1990.
His practice, Aurora Hand Surgery, P.C., has the following goals when treating patients that were injured at work:
1.) See the patient promptly. Many are seen on the same day that the consultation is called in, with most, if not all seen within two working days.
2.) Diagnose the patient correctly. It benefits no one if the patient has an incorrect diagnosis made and unnecessary surgery performed.
3.) Treat the patient correctly. This includes not operating if the problem would be best served with non-surgical measures. If the patient’s condition does require surgery, then do it right, the first time.
4.) Get them back into the work force as soon as possible. The average patient is given a return to work on modified duty status at the first post-op visit. The primary consideration is always patient safety, and protecting the injured area from further damage, but if this can be accomplished, the patient is encouraged to return to work, even if at a modified status.
5.) Encourage early rehabilitation after surgery. Dr. Guinn and his staff, including Certified Hand Therapists Deanna Smith OTR/L, CHT and Melanie Jackson MOTR/L, CHT, provide pre- and post-operative training and care to his patients. This can include post-operative splinting and referrals to begin formal therapy.
6.) Educate the patient. Dr. Guinn has found that a well-informed patient will do better post-operatively than one without a clear understanding of their injury. Comprehensive pre- and post-op teaching by Dr. Guinn and his staff keeps the patient and his or her case worker informed of their prognosis, the anticipated schedule for return to work to include dispensing of pain medications (which is discussed pre-operatively), and their progress after surgery.
7.) Work seamlessly with the Workman’s Compensation system. We aspire to have office notes available within 24 hours of the patient being seen. Work releases are faxed to the appropriate personnel immediately upon completion of the patient visit. Either Dr. Guinn or a medical member of his staff are available to speak telephonically to the W/C representatives to help clarify issues and discuss patient progress and prognosis. We also provide the opportunity to have the patient’s disability rating done by the same personnel that provided the treatment, keeping ratings accurate and factitious results to a minimum.