Hand Surgery

For the amount of hand surgeries performed annually, hand surgery hashtags are underrepresented on social media, and surgeons are missing opportunities to promote education and market the specialty, according to presented results.

Implementation of anatomic and procedure-specific opioid-prescribing guidelines may effectively reduce inadvertent overprescribing of opioids while maintaining patient satisfaction and minimizing refill demands among patients undergoing upper extremity surgery, according to results.

Patients who were obese or smokers who underwent surgical treatment for distal radius fractures experienced excellent radiographic and functional outcomes postoperatively at 1 year, according to published results.

LAS VEGAS — Early protected movement improved functional outcomes compared with immobilization and splinting in patients with Boxer’s fractures, according to results presented at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.

LAS VEGAS — At the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting, Asif M. Ilyas, MD, discussed a study that looked at the use of lidocaine with epinephrine in hand surgery. He said there were no complications and that epinephrine is safe and effective when used in hand surgery.

LAS VEGAS — Patients who received a corticosteroid injection within 1 year preoperatively of carpal tunnel release had an increased risk of surgical site infection, according to results presented here.

LAS VEGAS — Implementation of a standardized education program significantly reduced opioid intake after hand surgery, decreased refill rates and improved patient satisfaction, according to results presented at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.

LAS VEGAS — Results presented here showed vitamin C was not associated with improved outcomes after treatment of distal radius fracture.

LAS VEGAS — Older patients with distal radius fractures experienced faster recovery when treated with internal fixation using a volar locking plate system compared with external fixation, percutaneous pinning or casting, according to results presented at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand Annual Meeting.