‘I risked losing my arm’ – Wales forward undergoes life-changing amputation to save career
Shane Lewis-Hughes in action for Dragons against Connacht in 2024 and the Wales flanker post-surgery.
Wales back-row Shane Lewis-Hughes has revealed that he has had his finger amputated after years of managing the issue.
The Dragons flanker initially suffered the injury eight years ago, but over the seasons it has become more and more difficult to regulate.
Lewis-Hughes therefore took the decision to have his ring finger removed to just above the base knuckle so that he could get rid of the pain.
‘Affecting daily life’
“I’ve been dealing with it since 2016,” he told the Dragons’ YouTube channel.
“It didn’t have an affect on the rugby. It was a little bit painful but no affect on the rugby. [But] it got to a point in about 2020 that the pain started getting really bad in it.
“Then in 2021, at the same time I had my shoulder surgery, I made the decision to have my finger fused.
“The pain started to get worse from there. What that did was limit [my movement]. I can’t make a fist, I can’t bend it properly.
“Getting it fused took away the pain for a bit, but it ended up getting in the way anyway. Obviously, doing a contact sport, you have to grip stuff.
“It then got to a point where it was affecting daily things in life, so opening up a cupboard, I was smacking it. I was constantly catching it when putting clothes on.”
Six Nations: Fans react angrily to ‘worst rebrand’ and ‘ugliest thing ever seen’
According to Lewis-Hughes, the surgery was brought forward after the pain became “unbearable” for the 27-year-old.
“The plan was to get the finger amputated at the end of the season if I could get through to the end of the season… but in the Connacht game [on October 26] the pain started getting really, really bad,” he said.
“During the game and after it, the pain was just unbearable. The only way I could describe it is really bad toothache and somebody is stabbing a knife in that.
“It was like an electric shock with pins and needless shooting up my arm. It was affecting my sleep.”
Lewis-Hughes believes that not only will his day-to-day life be improved but that he expects to see an improvement in his performance.
The back-rower is not expected to be out for too long, with the recovery time scheduled to be three to four weeks, and the Wales international hopes to return better than ever.
No other option
“It will have a massive impact on my life going forward. I won’t be in pain anymore, I will be able to do my job properly, I won’t have to worry about catching it, stubbing it,” he added.
“It was either have it off or I won’t be able to play rugby anymore – that’s what I was told.
“I had to have it off anyway because I was told if it kept getting infected, I was also at risk of losing my hand and possibly my arm.
“It’s quite a big deal but the positive news, speaking to the surgeons and the advice I’ve had, is that once you’ve had the finger amputated, you won’t lose any strength.”