Hand surgery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The field of hand surgery deals with both surgical and non-surgical treatment of conditions and problems that may take place in the hand or upper extremity (commonly from the tip of the hand to the shoulder). Hand surgery may be practiced by graduates of general surgery, orthopaedic surgery and plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons receive significant training in hand surgery, with some graduates continuing on to do an additional one year hand fellowship. These fellowships are also pursued by general surgeons and orthopedic surgeons. Plastic surgeons are particularly well suited to handle traumatic hand and digit amputations that require a "replant" operation. Plastic surgeons are trained to reconstruct all aspects to salvage the appendage: blood vessels, nerves, tendons, muscle, bone. Hand surgeons perform a wide variety of operations such as fracture repairs, nerve decompressions, and reconstruction of injuries, rheumatoid deformities and congenital defects.