Occasionally, severe hand injuries can occur due to accidents with power tools and machines. These can result in significant damage to many structures in the hand, including bones, tendons, nerves, arteries and skin. Such hand injuries must be assessed and managed within hours by experienced reconstructive hand surgeons in order to ensure the best possible outcome. Significant and sometimes devastating loss of function may follow if they are not managed appropriately.
These injuries require complex hand surgery consisting of bone fixation, tendon repairs, microsurgery for nerves and arteries, and transfer of skin from other parts of the body. Hand surgery may take several hours, and more than one surgery is often needed before the treatment is complete.
Rehabilitation with intensive hand therapy for 2-6 months is vital to ensure as much function as possible is restored after surgery.
