Hand Fellowship Rotations

Fellows rotate in three-month blocks, each focusing on different aspects of hand surgery:

Trauma Rotation: At the Texas Medical Center (TMC), Fellows work alongside orthopedic and plastic surgeons, focusing on acute injuries and complex trauma. Cases range from low energy trauma and fracture care, to high energy trauma from distal radius to fingertip, ballistic and penetrating trauma, replants and revascularizations in the hand, and management of the mangled upper extremity.

Outpatient Practice: Based in the TMC area, this rotation emphasizes non-emergent hand and upper extremity conditions. These cases primarily include bread and butter hand and wrist procedures, reconstruction for tetraplegia and spasticity, nerve and tendon transfers for brachial plexus injury, targeted muscle reinnervation, and wrist arthroscopy.

Community Practice: Fellows train in two thriving Houston suburbs, managing a mix of cases in high-volume outpatient settings. Fellows train in two thriving Houston suburbs, managing a mix of cases in high-volume outpatient settings. The case mix ranges from bread and butter hand and wrist procedures including those performed wide awake under local anesthesia to management of sub-acute trauma from the elbow to the fingertip.

Blended Rotation: This rotation includes exposure to a variety of conditions in patients from all walks of life, young and old.  From congenital hand differences to trauma to degenerative joint disease involving the hand and wrist, Hand Fellows will also find that this rotation provides flexibility to tailor their experience and explore specific interests.  The case mix includes but is not limited to bread-and-butter hand, wrist and elbow procedures including those performed under local anesthesia, ambulatory trauma, various approaches for degenerative joint disease including denervation, fusion and arthroplasty and peripheral nerve conditions.

Throughout all rotations, fellows share approximately five days of hand and microvascular call per month with orthopedic surgery residents.