hand & upper extremity
J. Mark Melhorn, MD
Mark Melhorn, MD joined Mid-America Orthopedics in 2023 after more than 35 years of solo private practice in Wichita, Kansas. Mark Melhorn, MD specializes in orthopaedics of the hand and upper extremity which includes the hand, elbow, shoulder and neck. He is a Fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and is Board Certified in Orthopaedics with an additional Subspecialty Certificate in Orthopaedic Surgery of the Hand by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He practices at The Hand Center at Mid-America Orthopedics at the 1927 North Webb Rd Location.
Mark Melhorn, MD grew up in La Verne, California and McPherson, Kansas and participated in football and tennis in high school and college. He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, followed by a 5-year orthopedic surgery residence at the Kansas University School of Medicine-Wichita. This was followed by a fellowship in Hand and Upper Limb at the Boyes-University of Southern California Kech School of Medicine in Los Angles, California.
He is an Associate Clinical Professor with the Kansas University School of Medicine volunteer faculty and enjoys the opportunity to help train future healthcare providers. In addition to his local teaching activities, Mark Melhorn, MD provides education programs and research for the American Medical Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He enjoys treating patients of all ages and multiple generations in the same family.
Mark Melhorn, MD is dedicated to his family, church, and community. He enjoys playing tennis.
Boyes-University of Southern California – Fellowship Hand and Upper Limb
St. Francis Orthopedics – KUMC-Wichita Orthopaedic Surgery Residency
University of Kansas School of Medicine – MD
McPherson College – BA Chemistry and Physics
Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon with added subspecialty of surgery of the hand
American Medical Association
Fellow American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Fellow American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
Fellow American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Fellow International Academy of Independent Medical Examiners
Fellow American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Fellow American Association for Hand Surgery
Fellow American College of Surgeons
Kansas Medical Society
Kansas Orthopaedic Society
Medical Society of Sedgwick County
Mid-American Orthopedic Association
Mid-Central States Orthopaedics Society
ACOEM – Work Fitness and Disability Roundtable
– Hand
– Wrist
– Forearm
– Elbow
– Arm
– Shoulder
– Neck
– Work Comp Injuries
– Medical-Legal & IME Examiner
Minor inoffice procedures are available for the patient’s convenience and are offered with cost savings. These procedures are commonly described as wide-awake-hand-surgery or WALANT.
How It Works:
A local anesthetic is used to numb the area for surgery
Conditions:
While not every procedure can be performed with wide-awake hand surgery, there are many, with the number of conditions continuing to increase. Examples of common conditions include:
– Nerve compression
– Tendon disorders and repairs
– Ligament repairs
– Fracture fixation
– Arthritic conditions
– Mass or skin biopsy or removal
Advantages:
- Avoids sedation or general anesthesia with the associated comorbidity risks with reduction in nausea, vomiting and general fatigue.
- Often able to return to daily activities after the procedure
- IV usually not required
- Avoid fasting and lab work
- Often not required to stop regular medications
- Convenient for patient
- Offered with cost savings
Dupuytren contracture is a painless condition that causes one or more fingers to bend toward the palm of the hand. The affected fingers can’t straighten completely. This can easily be tested for by placing your hand flat on a table. If the palm does not touch, you have a “positive table top test”. You may first experience knots or bumps of tissue forming under the skin that look like calluses. These eventually create a thick cord that cause the fingers bending towards the palm. Dupuytren contracture most often affect the ring and litter fingers which can interfere with everyday activities such as placing your hands in your pockets, putting on gloves, shaking hands or working at your job.
The condition occurs in families and gradually gets worse with time. There’s no cure for Dupuytren contracture but there are multiple treatment options. XIAFLEX® is the only FDA-approved nonsurgical treatment for Dupuytren’s contracture when a “cord” can be felt. XIAFLEX® (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) specifically targets the tissue that forms the cords and is a prescription medicine that requires injection into the cord.
Symptoms
Dupuytren contracture gets worse slowly, over years and is more common in men.
The condition begins with a firm lump in the palm of the hand. This lump might
be a little tender, but usually isn’t painful. Over time, the lump can extend
into a hard cord under the skin and out towards the fingertip.
Risk Factors for Dupuytren Contracture
Age: Dupuytren contracture occurs most commonly after the age of 50.
Sex: Men are much more likely to develop Dupuytren than are women. In men,
symptoms may be worse and progress more quickly.
Ancestry: People of Northern European descent are at higher risk of the
disease.
Family history: Dupuytren contracture often runs in families.
Diabetes: People with diabetes have an increased risk of Dupuytren contracture.
Tobacco and alcohol use: Smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol both increase the risk of Dupuytren contracture.
How It Works:
Although blood is mainly a liquid (called plasma), it also contains small solid components (red cells, white cells, and platelets). The platelets are best known for their importance in clotting blood. However, platelets also contain hundreds of proteins called growth factors that are very important in the healing of injuries.
PRP is plasma with many more platelets than what is typically found in blood. The concentration of platelets – and, thereby, the concentration of growth factors – can be 5 to 10 times greater (or richer) than usual.
Although it is not exactly clear how PRP works, laboratory studies have shown that the increased concentration of growth factors in PRP can potentially speed up the healing process.
To speed healing, the injury site is treated with the PRP preparation that is obtained from the individual’s own blood. This can be done by carefully injecting the PRP into the injured area. This procedure can be done in the office.