Hand surgeon

Hand surgeons are a surgical subspecialty specializing in the care and treatment of problems relating to the hand, wrist, and elbow. Hand surgeons do not just engage in surgery - they are the primary medical doctors to deal with these issues, and often use non-surgical approaches.

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In the US, hand surgery is a subspecialty of surgery. A surgeon must first qualify as a general surgeon, plastic surgeon, or orthopedic surgeon, and then must do a one year long fellowship in hand practice. Board certified general, plastic, or orthopedics surgeons who have completed approved fellowship training in hand surgery and have met a number of other practice requirements are qualified to take the "Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand" examination, commonly referred to as the "CAQ"

The historical context for the three qualifying fields is that both plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery are more recent branches off the general surgery main trunk. In modern times, these specialties began defining themselves as treatment for horrific war injuries evolved during and after World War I, with formal specialty training developing in the period after World War II. Orthopedic surgeons continued to develop special techniques to manage small bones, as found in the wrist and hand. Pioneering plastic surgeons developed microsurgical techniques for repairing the small nerves and arteries of the hand. And surgeons from all three specialties have contributed to the development of techniques for repairing tendons and managing a broad range of acute and chronic hand injuries.

The American Society for Surgery of the Hand is one of the main societies in the field, and a good source of information.