Frequently Asked Questions

Dr. Badia first came to Miami and co-founded the Miami Hand Center in 1995 when he joined Dr. Jorge Orbay and was later joined by Drs. Roger Khouri, Eduardo Gonzalez, and then Steven Alex. This came directly after performing a traveling fellowship in Europe for complex hand trauma and a hand fellowship in Pittsburgh in 1994. In 2008, Dr. Badia founded the Badia Hand to Shoulder Center [...]

Dr. Badia's practice is limited to surgery of the hand and upper extremity, which includes the wrist, elbow and shoulder area. He also performs microsurgery and arthroscopic surgery but limited to the upper limb. However, Dr. Badia founded OrthoNOW which includes coverage for ALL orthopedic problems including sports medicine, spine, foot/ankle, hip and knee etc. OrthoNOW is an orthopedic [...]

Many of the surgeries are performed with the assistance of Kate Samuels, PA-C, who is a physician assistant that works closely with Dr. Badia in all phases of treatment including initial consultations and post op visits. He occasionally collaborates with one of his orthopedic colleagues from OrthoNOW. [...]

Severe pain resulting from tendon inflammation in carpal tunnel syndrome can be alleviated with anti-inflammatory modalities performed by hand therapists or medication, including the form of a corticosteroid injection in the wrist. However, true nerve compression that is confirmed by nerve conduction studies often needs surgical release in order to achieve a complete and long lasting cure. [...]

This is one of the many myths of cortisone and patients should understand that only high dose intravenous or oral steroids (cortisone-like substances) would cause side effects such as weight gain, hair growth or blood sugar elevation. A small injection in a joint or around a tendon sheath will not cause any significant side effects unless applied inappropriately or excessively. [...]

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a compression of the median nerve in the carpal canal of the wrist. There can be many causes but in the majority of cases the cause is not clear. We do see this with high incidence in certain groups, which indicates there may be some hormonal involvement that leads to tendon inflammation/thickening and thus secondary compression of the nerve. There is no scientific [...]

This should only be done with endoscopic carpal tunnel releases and traumatic injuries to both hands that require urgent treatment. However, in most elective cases, it is best to stage the carpal tunnel surgeries 4-6 weeks apart as that allows the patient to have one hand free without a dressing and with good strength as the operated hand recovers. Occasionally, bilateral surgery for [...]

Hand surgery can entail as simple a procedure as a carpal tunnel release or foreign body removal which would allow immediate near full use of the hand, or as complicated as a wrist laceration involving all tendons and nerves which can take up to a year for an adequate functional recovery. [...]

Dr. Badia was former chief of hand surgery at Baptist Hospital in Miami. He now only operates at The Surgery Center at Doral. This is because virtually all orthopedic upper extremity procedures can now be done on an outpatient basis which has a lesser complication / infection rate and is much more cost effective. Dr. Badia’s colleagues from OrthoNOW® also operate at The Surgery Center [...]

Yes, the Surgery Center at Doral is a fully  medicare approved facility with JCAHO certification and has contracts with various major insurance carriers. This includes many commercial insurances, workers compensation carriers and international insurances. [...]