Daily activities like pinching, gripping, squeezing can become difficult with pain at the base of the thumb. Dr. Mark Cohen, Director of Hand, Wrist and Elbow surgery at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, says that one of the most common reasons women visit his office is to seek treatment for thumb arthritis. In most cases, this condition can be treated conservatively, but in some cases, it does require a surgery he performs called carpometacarpal arthroplasty (CMC). During this procedure, the doctor removes a portion of the affected joint and repairs it with a piece of the patient’s own tendon.

About Dr. Mark Cohen

Originally from Chicago where he graduated valedictorian from Niles West High School, Dr. Cohen received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University, graduating with highest distinction and departmental honors. He then attended Harvard Medical School, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with honors in a special field. After serving an orthopaedic residency at the University of California, San Diego, he completed a hand, upper extremity and microvascular fellowship at the Indiana Hand Center, one of the largest and prestigious hand centers in the country.

Dr. Cohen is the author of more than 135 medical articles, 58 book chapters and he has written a textbook on Hand and Wrist injuries. In addition, he is an editor of Green's Operative Hand Surgery, the most widely read and recognized Hand and Elbow Surgery textbook in the world. He has participated in over 320 continuing education courses where he has taught other doctors, serving as Course Chairman 50 times. For the last 26 years, he has been the Director of the Orthopaedic Hand and Elbow Section at Rush University, and he currently serves as the Director of Orthopaedic Education in the department.

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