Using creative surgical solutions for creative patients

During a family trip to Traverse City, Susie McColgan fell down a flight of stairs during the night, resulting in a slew of serious injuries to her entire body.

“I couldn’t see anything,” she recalled. “It was as if I was falling down an elevator shaft; I couldn’t move, breathe or really call for help.” 

The injuries included a shattered pelvis, extensive bruising and the breaking of her right hand. 

Most of her injuries needed to be treated immediately to save her life. But the injury that McColgan felt would have the most emotional impact was the one to her right hand: it was her painting hand, which had been crushed in the fall.

“Painting has been my career for over 25 years, but the fall put that on hold,” said McColgan.

“I was honestly not sure if I would ever be able to paint again after the fall. I was sure I could find a way to do it differently, but I felt I would need to accept that it would never be the same as it was.” 

For a year after the fall, McColgan focused only on recovering and didn’t try to paint at all. 

Finally, though, as her injuries healed, McColgan felt she was ready to paint again. 

To help her begin reaching her goal, in 2019 she found  Kevin Chung, M.D., a professor of plastic surgery specializing in hand surgery at University of Michigan Health. 

"Susie’s Solution"

Chung reviewed McColgan’s injury, and the reconstruction performed after her accident to keep the tendons together. 

While her tendons were whole, their placement was restricting the thumb, causing her issues with painting.  

He felt that, due to the nature of her injury, McColgan required an individualized solution, thus creating “Susie’s Solution.”

The first operation was performed in 2019. 

Chung worked with McColgan to create goals for the first procedure, which included stabilizing the thumb and patiently working with physical and occupational therapists to aid in restoring her thumb function.

The procedure was successful on both fronts and McColgan was able to paint again.  

But, unfortunately, the solution didn’t hold for long.  

By 2023 the reconstructed tendon had become undone, with McColgan needing a second procedure to get her thumb working properly again.

“I knew that this time we needed to rework the procedure and make something stronger,” said Chung. 

“This is when we created Susie’s Solution 2.0.” 

This time, instead of only reconstructing the tendon, Chung anchored the tendon to the bone so it wouldn’t move around the hand and become undone.  

“Painting has been my favorite so far and having this ability back is nothing short of life changing.” – Susie McColgan, patient 

The main tendon that had shifted was looped around another tendon, like a sling, to help anchor it to the bone.  

This sling now holds the tendon in place securely. 

After the procedure, McColgan went through physical and occupational therapy again to strengthen her hand.

Since “Susie’s Solution 2.0," McColgan hasn’t experienced any more difficulties with the tendons in her hand. 

Painting again 

Through her rehabilitation process after the procedure, McColgan was able to start getting back into painting without worry. 

“Painting and art are my whole life. In high school I snuck into two art classes a day and hoped no one would notice,” said McColgan. 

“I graduated from the University of Michigan with a graphic design degree and have been exploring different art mediums ever since. Painting has been my favorite so far and having this ability back is nothing short of life changing.”

The further McColgan got into recovery, the better she was able to paint. 

As a thank you she wanted to find some way to express her gratitude to Chung and his talented surgical work that had restored her ability to continue her life’s work of creating art. 

“One of my favorite things to paint is portraits. I love capturing the essence of a person in a portrait,” said McColgan. 

“I couldn’t think of a better way to thank Dr. Chung for what he had given me than showing him what his surgical work was now allowing me to create. So, I painted a portrait of him.”

McColgan worked on the portrait for two months, making sure that every detail accurately captured his presence. 

She wanted to ensure the portrait had a classic style that felt timeless, honoring him and the work he does for his patients.

“He has an ethereal glow to him and his smile lights up any room he walks in,” said McColgan.

“It was crucial to me that I make sure those elements were captured in this portrait. This way anyone who sees it will be able to understand who Dr. Chung is through the painting. I wanted it to be a painting that can live in his office for a long time.”

Once the portrait was completed, McColgan worked with Chung’s staff to find a time she could come to his office and surprise him with the portrait.

“I was incredibly surprised to receive the portrait,” said Chung. 

“The sentiment of the painting means a lot to me. She chose to spend her time and her talent painting this portrait for me and that is incredibly generous. It’s also not only a display of gratitude, but of trust, which makes me even prouder to be her surgeon.” 

Today, McColgan is continuing with her love of painting using her new hand.

She’s grateful for her care team keeping her motivated, which she credits to where she is today.  

“It can be difficult to keep going even when you get bad news, but it is the best thing to do,” said McColgan. 

“Take it one day at a time, keep going, don’t give up and know that you are doing your best, which is more than enough.” 

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