Innovations

Whilst working at Louisville, Kentucky I was fortunate enough to witness the first American hand transplant (and the only second such procedure worldwide at that time).

The technical aspects of the operation are familiar to any microsurgeon who regularly deals with upper extremity trauma such as replantation of limbs. The organisation however is complex and covers selection procedures, the clinical indications and input from colleagues in immunology, pharmacology, clinical psychology, orthopaedics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Read more >>

Patients born with undescended testis are subject to an increased risk of testicular cancer as well as problems with fertility. Conventional paediatric surgical techniques can help the majority.

In a small number of cases the testicle cannot be brought into the scrotum using conventional techniques. In the United States a technique was introduced in which the testicle is freed in the abdomen and disconnected from its blood supply and then using microsurgical techniques reattached to a local blood supply close to the scrotum, thus allowing delivery into its correct position. Read more >>