Practice
Optimal results are achieved through the continued communication, involvement and collaboration between the treating surgeon and specialized therapists. We have a friendly and co-operative working environment between the specialist Hand Surgeon and dedicated Hand Therapists. We focus on the restoration of the functional, work, sport and recreational use of the hand without neglecting the aesthetic and communicative role the hand plays.
Comprehensive care is provided by applying all available treatment options for the patient’s condition. Conservative management with therapeutic modalities are combined with injections or infiltrations where needed. Activity modification and assistive devices are used to improve function and relieve symptoms. Surgery is performed when indicated.
Individualized treatment is undertaken for each patient, taking into account the specific needs, expectations and limitations for each client. We appreciate the impact of the disease, treatment and recovery time on the individual and his/her social network, and the timing and type of treatment are adapted accordingly.
Cost effectiveness is ensured by providing a one-stop service with the surgeon and therapist in the same rooms. If surgery is indicated, it is usually done as a day procedure in a specialized Day Hospital. Overnight admission is hardly ever needed and hospitalization costs are kept to a minimum.
Hand therapy is managed on site by Ria Augustyn, an Occupational Therapist who is the Director of The Garden Route Hand Therapy Practice, a well-established Hand- and Occupational Therapy practice. We also have a good working relationship with other therapists in George and the surrounding towns.
Therapy may include:
- Splinting
- Pressure garments
- Exercise and home programs
- Pain and oedema management
- Scar management
- Activity modifications and adaptations
- Assistive devices
- Work visits and reintegration
Non-surgical treatment options include:
- Intra-articular injections
- Infiltration of inflamed or entrapped tendons and muscles, ie
- Trigger fingers
- De Quervain’s tenovitis
- Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow
- Conservative treatment of
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Thumb osteoarthritis
- Dorsal wrist syndrome
- TFCC injuries
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Surgery is performed by specialist Hand Surgeons.
Dr PC Pelser obtained his MBChB degree from the University of Pretoria and continued to specialize in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of the Free State, where he worked as consultant in the Hand Surgery Department. He did further training under Hand Surgeons in Cape Town in 2013, and in 2014 completed a Fellowship in Hand Surgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery at the Royal North Shore Hospital and University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. Being a clarinettist and keen outdoor sportsman, dr Pelser has good first-hand experience of the unique and extreme demands that are placed on a person’s hands. Almost all procedures are done as day-cases, meaning that admission to hospital is limited to 1 to 2 hours pre-operatively with discharge within 1 to 3 hours after the procedure. Surgery is performed under different types of local or regional anaesthetic techniques with the addition of sedation or general anaesthetic as needed. This is done with the help of a specialist anaesthetist and helps to keep post-operative pain and discomfort to a minimum.
Dr Pieter W Jordaan is a Specialist Orthopaedic and Hand Surgeon with a practice dedicated to Surgery of the Hand, Wrist and Peripheral nerves. He is the first South African to become a Fellow of the European Board of Hand Surgery after successfully completing the European Board of Hand Surgery Examination and obtaining the European Diploma of Hand Surgery in 2021. Dr Jordaan has a special interest in Peripheral nerve conditions, such as nerve trauma, nerve compression, neuroma and painful nerve conditions and especially nerve transfers surgery to restore motor function in paralysed muscles caused by nerve injury, spinal cord injury(a certain level of upper limb function can be restored with a combination of nerve and tendon transfers) spinal root compression (post decompressive surgery) and neuritis. He believes in a team approach to treatment and works closely with hand therapists, physiotherapist and biokinetics to ensure the best possible outcome for treatment.
Surgical procedures are available for most upper limb conditions, including:
Dr PC Pelser obtained his MBChB degree from the University of Pretoria and continued to specialize in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of the Free State, where he worked as consultant in the Hand Surgery Department. He did further training under Hand Surgeons in Cape Town in 2013, and in 2014 completed a Fellowship in Hand Surgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery at the Royal North Shore Hospital and University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia. Being a clarinettist and keen outdoor sportsman, dr Pelser has good first-hand experience of the unique and extreme demands that are placed on a person’s hands. Almost all procedures are done as day-cases, meaning that admission to hospital is limited to 1 to 2 hours pre-operatively with discharge within 1 to 3 hours after the procedure. Surgery is performed under different types of local or regional anaesthetic techniques with the addition of sedation or general anaesthetic as needed. This is done with the help of a specialist anaesthetist and helps to keep post-operative pain and discomfort to a minimum.
Dr Pieter W Jordaan is a Specialist Orthopaedic and Hand Surgeon with a practice dedicated to Surgery of the Hand, Wrist and Peripheral nerves. He is the first South African to become a Fellow of the European Board of Hand Surgery after successfully completing the European Board of Hand Surgery Examination and obtaining the European Diploma of Hand Surgery in 2021. Dr Jordaan has a special interest in Peripheral nerve conditions, such as nerve trauma, nerve compression, neuroma and painful nerve conditions and especially nerve transfers surgery to restore motor function in paralysed muscles caused by nerve injury, spinal cord injury(a certain level of upper limb function can be restored with a combination of nerve and tendon transfers) spinal root compression (post decompressive surgery) and neuritis. He believes in a team approach to treatment and works closely with hand therapists, physiotherapist and biokinetics to ensure the best possible outcome for treatment.
Surgical procedures are available for most upper limb conditions, including:
- Children’s congenital hand conditions, such as:
- Fused/webbed fingers (syndactyly)
- Extra fingers (polydactyly)
- Thumb abnormalities (duplication or trigger)
- Arthrogryposis
- Radial club hand
- Cerebral palsy
- Neonatal brachial plexus injuries (Erb’s palsy)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other nerve compression conditions
- Trigger fingers
- De Quervain’s tenovitis
- Dupuytren’s contracture
- Arthritis of the fingers, wrist and elbows, including
- Joint replacements/arthroplasty
- Joint fusions/arthrodecis
- Spastic and paralytic hand conditions, such as:
- Cerebral palsy
- Stroke
- Brain injury
- Quadriplegia
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Hand injuries/trauma
- Tendon and nerve repair
- Fractures of the fingers, hand, wrist and elbow
- Nailbed injuries
- Ganglions, nodules, cysts and other hand tumours
- Infection and abscesses around the nail, fingertip or hand


