Hand microsurgery is a medical field specialising in the restoration of hand function after injury, disease or due to congenital defects. It involves complex procedures such as repairing blood vessels, nerve endings and joints, which requires a high level of skill and experience on the part of the surgeon. Choosing the right specialist in this field can be a difficult task as there are many factors to consider – experience, qualifications, mastery of modern techniques, certifications, etc. In this article, we will talk about the methods of hand surgery and the most prominent specialists in this field. We will provide the most useful information about the doctors so that you can make the right decision in choosing a specialist.
In what cases is hand surgery required?
Hand surgery and microsurgery is performed in the following cases:
For fractures, dislocations, and other injuries;
for the treatment of burns;nbsp;
to repair an amputated limb;
in skin and tissue transplants;
to repair blood vessels;
for joint diseases (arthritis, calcinosis);
in nerve damage (carpal tunnel syndrome, pinched nerves);
tumours, infectious lesions;
to correct congenital anomalies of the hand structure, etc.
Read: Dr Ramazan Erden Ertürer
Prof. Erden Ertürer is an orthopaedic traumatologist working at Liv Hospital Ulus Medical Centre in Turkey. His medical experience exceeds 26 years.
One of his specialities is hand surgery. He performs arthroplasty and joint replacement and treats sports injuries. He is also consulted for surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, Dupuytren’s disease, ganglion cyst removal and other problems.
The doctor performs surgeries using minimally invasive surgery techniques, which means smaller incisions, low trauma, and faster recovery. He has performed more than 2,000 successful hand surgeries of varying complexity.
Dr Ertürer is a member of various profile organisations such as the Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Association of Reconstructive Surgery of the Limb, Turkish Association of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery, etc. He is a member of the Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology.
The doctor is active in academic and research activities. He has authored or co-authored more than 170 scientific papers published in international and national medical publications.
If you are interested in hand arthroscopy, endoprosthesis or microsurgery to restore the functionality of the wrist, please contact MediGlobus specialists. We will help you choose the clinic and doctor according to your preferences, and organise your trip.
Who performs hand surgery?
Hand surgeries are performed by orthopaedic surgeons or plastic surgeons with additional training and experience in hand microsurgery. These specialists are skilled in working on the smallest structures, such as nerves and blood vessels, using microscopic tools and techniques. The choice of surgeon depends on the patient’s specific problem and the type of intervention required.
Dr Selahattin Özmen
Prof. Selahattin Özmen has more than 20 years of experience in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. He is the head of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Koç University Medical School. He has received more than 20 awards for his services in his field.
Dr Selahattin Özmen is one of the best specialists in Turkey in microsurgical reconstruction of any part of the body, including the hand, arm, leg or foot. He is often approached for skin grafting. He also performs reconstructive surgeries to correct congenital limb anomalies such as polydactyly (having an extra finger) or syndactyly (fusion of two or more fingers). He also treats tendon ruptures, Dupuytren’s disease and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Dr Ozmen is a member of the Scientific Committee for Tissue Transplantation at the Ministry of Health, the Turkish Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, the Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery, the Turkish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, and the International Society of Plastic Surgery. He is the author of more than 80 articles published in international journals. His works have been cited more than 1,600 times.
Plastic surgery of the hand is one of the most complex areas of reconstructive surgery, which aims to restore the aesthetic appearance and functionality of the hand after injury, disease or congenital anomalies. Contact MediGlobus to choose an experienced specialist in this field.
Dr Eftal Güdemez
Prof. Eftal Güdemez is one of Turkey’s top orthopaedic and trauma specialists from Koç Hospital.
He started his career with education in the Department of Hand Surgery under the supervision of Prof. Ayyan Gülgönen at the American Hospital in 1995-1996. He also trained in microsurgery at the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Clinic in Cleveland, USA from 1997-1998.
Prof. Güdemez was certified by the European Board of Hand Surgery in 2010 and by the Turkish Ministry of Health in 2011. He is also the coordinator of the Orthopaedic and Trauma Education Programme at Koç University School of Medicine from 2013 until now.
Dr Güdemez specialises in several areas of orthopaedics and traumatology:
Wrist surgery for fractures;
reconstruction of congenital deformities of the hand;
tendon graft surgery;
peripheral nerve surgery.
Professor Güdemez has published more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed international journals and has attended more than 50 international congresses where he has given lectures and presentations.
Methods of restoring hand functionality
Hand surgery is a broad field of orthopaedics that provides care for people with a variety of problems. For example, if a person has finger joint disease, an orthopaedist will perform arthroscopic repair, and reconstruction or replace the affected joint with an artificial joint. A plastic surgeon may perform skin grafts to repair damaged areas after a burn or after a tumour has been removed. If there is a nerve problem, such as a pinched nerve or carpal tunnel syndrome, surgery is performed to prevent the nerve endings from being compressed. If a person has lost a finger or the whole hand due to trauma, surgeons perform replantation – surgical restoration of an amputated or partially amputated limb with restoration of nerves and blood supply. This is not a complete list of problems that can be solved with hand surgery and microsurgery.
Hand surgery includes a variety of techniques such as:
arthroscopy and hand joint endoprosthetics;
tendon repair surgery;
skin grafting;
surgery to repair an amputated limb with restoration of nerves and blood supply;
nerve repair surgery;
Dupuytren’s contracture surgery – removal of hardened tissue to restore finger mobility;
surgical drainage or debridement – treatment of infections of the skin and tissues of the hand, including removal of pus and damaged tissue;
reduction and fixation surgery for fractures.
“Before the advent of microsurgery, amputation was the only option for severe limb injuries. Now we reconstruct fingers using arteries that are a fraction of a millimetre in diameter” – Dr David Colen, plastic and reconstructive surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine.
Dr Zvika Steinberger
Dr Zvika Steinberger is a renowned specialist in orthopaedic surgery and microsurgery of the hand and foot in Israel. He is the head of the microsurgery department at the Sheba Clinic.
Dr Steinberger received his medical education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, after which he completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Sheba. His training also included a fellowship in limb preservation, hand surgery and microsurgery in the USA at the University of Pennsylvania. There he participated in performing surgery for bilateral hand transplantation. He also completed the Penn Orthoplastics and Limb Salvage Surgery Fellowship in 2020.
Dr Steinberger focuses on microsurgery of complex defects of the lower and upper extremities. His professional interests include hand injury recovery, surgical repair of congenital anomalies, arthritis therapy, and many others.
Dr Steinberger is actively involved in research, publishing in journals and attending conferences and seminars.
Thanks to Dr Steinberger, many patients have been able to save their limbs and avoid disability. He recalls one of the many cases in his practice: “We operated on a young man who survived a missile that hit his SUV. His left leg was amputated and both upper extremities were badly damaged. After making sure there was no infection, we first treated the right arm and repaired the nerves with allografts. Then we tackled the left upper limb, and in this surgery, we replaced the elbow, restored the extensor mechanism and closed the prosthetic elbow with a sutured muscle.”
Finger microsurgery is a complex procedure that requires the surgeon’s utmost skill. MediGlobus works with clinics that have outstanding orthopaedic surgeons with a wealth of experience who help patients in even the most hopeless cases. Contact us if you want to find a qualified specialist for hand surgery. We will find a clinic, make an appointment with the doctor for a consultation and help with travel arrangements.
Dr Joaquim Casañas Sintes
Dr Joaquim Casañas Sintes is an eminent surgeon in trauma and orthopaedic surgery with many years of experience. He has been President of the Spanish Society of Hand Surgery since 2019 and a member of the American Society of Hand Surgery. For many years he has been in charge of the Trauma Department at Centro Medico Teknon, where he has been involved in hand surgery and peripheral nerve reconstruction.
Dr Casañas holds a degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona and completed the MIR programme at the University Hospital of Bellvitge. He is also an MD with a thesis on “Direct muscle neurotization using vascularised nerve grafts”.
Specialising in surgery, hand arthroscopy and peripheral nerve microsurgery, Dr Casañas successfully treats a variety of conditions such as injuries, fractures, arthrosis and tendon problems of the upper limbs.
In addition to practising at the clinic, Dr. Casañas is actively involved in educational programmes, teaching at the Spanish Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and other educational institutions. He is also an organiser and speaker at various congresses on traumatology, hand surgery and microsurgery.
He is a member of several professional scientific and medical organisations, among which are: the Spanish Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (SECOT), Spanish Society of Hand Surgery (SECMA), Spanish Association of Microsurgery (AEM), Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH), European Federation of Societies for Microsurgery (EFSM), European Wrist Arthroscopy Society (EWAS), Member of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH).
Dr Ireneusz Babiak
Dr Ireneusz Babiak is an outstanding specialist in orthopaedics and traumatology of the musculoskeletal system with 30 years of professional experience. He receives patients at the Karolina Medical Centre (Poland). He specialises in conservative and surgical treatment of injuries in the field of orthopaedics, in particular – wrist and foot joint disorders. The second key focus of his practice is the treatment of severe bone and joint infections.
Dr Babiak is an active member of Polish and international scientific societies, including the European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS), where he holds the honorary position of Polish representative. He was educated at the Medical Academy in Wroclaw and received his doctorate from the Medical University of Lodz. Dr Babiak also gained his professional experience in Switzerland and Sweden. Until 2017, he held the position of Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the Medical University of Warsaw.
Dr Babiak has authored numerous publications that appear in prestigious publications such as Orthopaedics and Traumatology: Surgery and Research, Acta Orthopedica Turcica and International Wound Journal. He is also a lecturer in orthopaedics and traumatology training courses. For his outstanding achievements in orthopaedics, he has received many awards, including the Luxmed Group President’s Award and the Polish Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology Award.
Hand surgery – prices in foreign clinics
Hand surgery represents a wide range of medical procedures, methods and technologies, which results in a considerable variety of treatment costs. First of all, the price depends on the method of treatment, complexity and duration of the operation, whether it is reconstruction after an injury, removal of cysts, treatment of nerve and vascular damage, or plastic surgery to restore functionality and improve appearance. The price is also influenced by the country where the treatment is performed, the level of the clinic, the experience and qualifications of the surgeon, as well as the use of specialised instruments and materials. It is also worth considering the costs of pre-operative preparation, post-operative care and rehabilitation. A consultation with a doctor and a detailed discussion of the treatment plan allows to determine the cost of microsurgery more accurately.
Summary
Hand microsurgery is performed for injuries, amputations, inflammation, deformities, and other pathologies requiring the repair of blood vessels, nerves, tendons, and joints.
Hand surgeries are performed by orthopaedic surgeons or plastic surgeons with additional training and experience in microsurgery.
To treat the hands, doctors perform arthroscopy and joint endoprosthetics, skin grafting, surgery to repair an amputated limb, nerve and blood vessel repair, surgery to treat infections, etc.
Professor Erden Ertürer from the Liv Clinic is a doctor with 26 years of experience. He specialises in orthopaedics and traumatology, with a main focus on hand surgery. He performs arthroplasty, joint endoprosthetics and solutions to various problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome and Dupuytren’s disease.
Professor Selahattin Ozmen has 20 years of experience in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery. He heads the Department of plastic surgery at Koç Hospital. The doctor focuses on microsurgical reconstruction, performs surgeries for skin grafting, corrects congenital anomalies of the hand structure, and performs surgeries to treat tendon ruptures, Dupuytren’s disease and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Professor Eftal Güdemez is an outstanding Turkish orthopaedic and trauma specialist from Koç Hospital. He specialises in wrist surgery for fractures, reconstruction of congenital hand deformities, tendon grafting operations and peripheral nerve surgery.
Dr Zvika Steinberger is a renowned orthopaedist and microsurgeon. He is the head of the microsurgery department at the Sheba Clinic and specialises in correcting complex defects of the upper and lower limbs, and restoring limb functionality after trauma or in congenital anomalies.
Dr Joaquim Casañas Sintes is the head of the trauma department at the Teknon Clinic. His specialisation in surgery, hand arthroscopy and peripheral nerve microsurgery allows him to successfully treat injuries, fractures and problems with joints and tendons of the upper limbs.
Dr Ireneusz Babiak is an outstanding orthopaedic traumatologist with 30 years of experience from Karolina Medical Centre in Poland. His qualifications cover conservative and surgical treatment of injuries and diseases of the wrist and foot joints, as well as surgical treatment of infectious bone and joint lesions.
The cost of hand surgery in foreign clinics depends on the method of treatment, surgeon’s experience, country and clinic.
Contact MediGlobus to book a consultation with an orthopaedic surgeon in a clinic abroad as soon as possible. We will help you organise your trip to the surgery and accompany you during your stay in the clinic.
Sources:
- 1. Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine
- 2. The British Society for Surgery of the Hand
- 3. Journal of Hand and Microsurgery
