Hand Fellowship

The goal of this program is to enhance and broaden the skills of the fellow in diagnosis and management of upper extremity injuries from the shoulder to the fingertip. The fellow will learn the diagnosis of hand and upper extremity injuries, diseases, and afflictions while learning to perform appropriate surgical and non-surgical management, follow-up care and rehabilitation with supervised hands-on experience training.

This is truly an upper extremity fellowship. All areas of upper extremity surgery will be covered, including joint replacement of the shoulder, elbow and wrist; upper extremity fractures and dislocations; soft tissue injuries; tendon repair and reconstruction; tumors; nerve repair and reconstruction; infections; vascular injuries and disorders; and microvascular surgery. The fellow has the opportunity to work in both the hand/upper extremity and sports medicine sections within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. There will be emphasis on arthroscopic management of upper extremity disorders, including arthroscopic shoulder reconstruction for instability and rotator cuff tears; elbow arthroscopy and wrist arthroscopy for management of fractures and instability.

This is the fellow's year. The opportunity is made for the fellow to rotate among the various hand and upper extremity faculty to customize the year in the areas where the fellow has a special interest. The fellow also has the opportunity to work within the Division of Plastic Surgery. The fellow begins with a basic and then advanced training course in the highly supervised microvascular laboratory.

The fellow performs the role of a junior staff member in the teaching and supervision of orthopedic and plastic surgery residents. There are formal didactic and interactive teaching conferences that cover specifics like the topics; a monthly hand and upper extremity journal club; as well as case presentation, preoperative and postoperative complications and mortality and morbidity. The fellow is encouraged to participate in at least one research project of his choosing that involves the upper extremity.

The fellow is supported for one meeting and one course of choice during the fellowship year. There are three weeks of vacation.