Hand and wrist

The program boasts a high-volume practice of evaluating and managing common hand and wrist pathologies including arthritis, tendinopathies, carpal instability, and compressive neuropathies. However, as a national and international referral center, including a Level 1 Trauma Center, you will have ample exposure to complex hand and wrist reconstruction.

Flaps

Free soft tissue transfer, free vascularized bone grafts and free functioning muscle transfers are integral to the specialty practices of our renowned faculty. Regardless of prior training in microvascular surgery, you will leave the program with tremendous exposure and confidence to perform microvascular surgery in your future practice, if you desire.

Replantation

Being one of the largest referral centers in the Midwest, finger replantation and revascularization procedures are common while on hand trauma call. You quickly become adept at evaluating and treating the mangled upper extremity within a few months into your fellowship. Supervised autonomy is granted through the course of the year to help you transition from a fellow to a hand surgeon capable of treating devastating hand injuries.

Shoulder

A few of our core rotations will give you a wide exposure to the shoulder beyond what you have seen in residency training (arthroplasty and rotator cuff repair). You will learn how to perform a full infraclavicular brachial plexus approach, posterior approach to the shoulder as it pertains nerve transfers, shoulder capsule and tendon releases for contractures and spasticity, and secondary reconstruction for brachial plexopathies such as glenohumeral arthrodesis.

Elbow

You will also have the opportunity to perform extensile surgical approaches to the elbow while surgically treating elbow contractures, arthritis, fractures, and tendinopathies. Fellows from either an orthopedic surgery or plastic surgery background will become comfortable accessing, identifying, and mobilizing all the neurovascular structures across the elbow.

Brachial plexus

As part of your core rotation, you gain tremendous experience in the evaluation and management of brachial plexus and peripheral nerve injuries to include brachial plexus reconstruction, free functioning muscle transfers, tendon transfers, nerve transfers and arthrodesis.

Congenital hand

You are exposed to congenital hand conditions as part of a core rotation that involves patient evaluation and treatment at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital (Rochester, MN), Shriners Hospital for Children (Minneapolis, MN), and Gillette Children’s Hospital (St. Paul, MN).

Commonly treated conditions include syndactyly, arthrogryposis, thumb hypoplasia, and radial longitudinal deficiencies.