Hand and Upper Extremities

UT Southwestern Medical Center’s hand team offers a comprehensive range of options to treat hand and upper extremity disorders affecting both adult and pediatric patients. We apply the latest technology and treatments to resolve a variety of issues, from carpal tunnel syndrome to Dupuytren’s contracture to trigger finger and many other hand problems.

Our surgeons make available the latest and best surgical and nonsurgical treatments for our patients, and we are not constrained by a particular treatment option or product. We help our patients find the best long-term solutions for hand conditions.

Innovative Nonsurgical and Surgical Care

Our surgeons offer a comprehensive approach to evaluating and treating disorders and injuries affecting the upper extremities. Whether working with adults or pediatric patients, our goal is to restore function using the most effective nonsurgical and surgical treatments available.

We know that surgery is not always the best course. Using state-of- the-art technology and the latest nonsurgical treatments, our hand specialists can often resolve hand problems in our offices in less than an hour.

If surgery is the best option, patients can rely on our expertise with the newest and best treatments, such as endoscopic procedures and minimal access surgery, computer-assisted 3-D surgery, and innovative microsurgical techniques.

Our hand experts are fellowship-trained specialists who:

• Participate in groundbreaking clinical trials
  
• Evaluate products and technology before they are available to the general public
  
• Adhere to a strict code of ethics
  
• Teach future surgeons
  
• Lead continuing education for practicing physicians

Hand and Upper Extremity Conditions We Treat

Some of the hand conditions the UT Southwestern team treats are:

• Arthritis
  
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
  
• Trigger finger
  
• Congenital abnormalities
  
• Degenerative diseases
  
• De Quervain's tenosynovitis
  
• Dupuytren's contracture
  
• Finger osteomyelitis
  
• Tendon injuries
  
• Ganglion cysts
  
• Hand tumors and cancer
  
• Nerve injuries
  
• Compressive neuropathies
  
• Hand and wrist pain
  
• Fingernail injuries and deformities
  
• Golfer’s and tennis elbow
  
• Hand and wrist fractures
  
• Tennis elbow
  
• Hand reconstruction
  
• Reattachment of amputated fingers and hands
  

Treatments for Hand and Upper Extremity Conditions

Patients can rely on our expertise in dealing with relatively simple injuries, complex disorders, traumatic injuries, and degenerative diseases.

UT Southwestern offers special expertise in the replantation of severed fingers and hands, precisely restoring function. Using advanced microsurgical techniques, our hand and peripheral nerve specialists can also reconstruct arteries, veins, or nerves; restore blood flow; and transplant tissue within the body, such as a toe to thumb transplant.

We are also currently working to establish the first hand transplant center in North Texas.

Hand and Upper Extremity Care: What to Expect

Depending on the complexity of the procedure, hand surgery can take 30 minutes to several hours.