The Hand and Upper Extremity Service at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is dedicated to general and specialized care of the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder. The program includes faculty members from the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, with special interest and fellowship training in the area of upper extremity surgery.

The outpatient practice is based in the Arthritis, Bone and Joint Center where a multidisciplinary approach is the foundation for care of patients with connective tissue disease. Rheumatologists, musculoskeletal radiologists and therapists all concurrently contribute to the care of the arthritic patient. A hand therapist is on site in the Arthritis, Bone and Joint Center and provides expertise in splinting and assistive devices for activities of daily living. Major operative procedures are performed in a modern ambulatory surgical unit. A procedure room in the practice site is utilized for minor procedures and acute care of fractures and related hand trauma. The hand trauma call is shared with the Division of Plastic Surgery. This collaborative relationship forms the basis for the combined hand conference, which is the forum for bi-weekly multidisciplinary case discussions and the clinical and basic science didactic curriculum.

The resident on the Hand and Upper Extremity Service will learn specific skills with regards to arthroplasty and limited arthrodesis of the small joints of the hand and wrist; arthroscopy of the wrist and, on occasion, other small joints of the hand; treatment of hand and upper extremity dysfunction after stroke and cerebrovascular accidents; congenital anomalies; post traumatic and Dupuytren's contractures; vascularized bone transfers to reconstruct major skeletal deficits; treatment of peripheral nerve palsy with neurorrhaphy and tendon transfers; and specialized skin flaps to cover common hand defects. The resident will also become familiar with principles and techniques of replantation and microvascular surgery.

The Hand Service has an active basic and clinical research program in collaboration with the faculty of the Division of Musculoskeletal Sciences. Basic research is centered around materials science of polymeric and metallic implants for joint replacement arthroplasty, mechanics of fracture fixation, biologic response to wear debris in an animal model for arthroplasty, mechanical simulation of current elastomeric implants used for finger joint arthritis, development of a human osteoarthritis model and hormone receptor identification in osteoarthritis of the thumb basal joint complex.

For more information regarding Penn State Orthopaedics' residency training program, please email the residency program coordinator at OrthoResidency@hmc.psu.edu.