Gaps in exposure to essential competencies in hand surgery fellowship training: a national survey of program directors.

Background: Graduate medical education has moved towards competency-based training. The aim of this study was to assess hand surgery program directors' opinions of exposure gaps in core competencies rated as essential for hand surgery training.

Methods: We surveyed the 74 ACGME hand surgery fellowship program directors.

Understanding quality of life and patient expectations among adolescents with neonatal brachial plexus palsy: a qualitative and quantitative pilot study.

Purpose: To explore the quality of life (QOL) and patient expectations among adolescents with neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP)and their parents using qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Methods: A total of 18 adolescents (10-17 y) with residual NBPP impairment and their parents under went separate 1-hour tape-recorded semistructured interviews. We also collected quantitative physical examination measures and patient-rated outcome scores, specifically the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument and the Child Health Questionnaire, to quantify the severity of each adolescent’s functional deficit and increase our understanding of QOL and patient expectations.

Medical decision-making among adolescents with neonatal brachial plexus palsy and their families: a qualitative study.

Background: Elective surgical management of neonatal brachial plexus palsy is complex, variable, and often individualized. Little is known about the medical decision-making process among adolescents with neonatal brachial plexus palsy and their families when faced with making complex treatment decisions. The experiences of these patients and their parents were analyzed to identify key factors in the decision-making process.

A systematic review of peer review for scientific manuscripts.

Background: The usefulness of peer review has been expressed as a method to improve the quality of published work. However, there has been a lack of systematic reviews to date to highlight the essential themes of the peer-review process.

Methods: We performed a search of the English language literature published prior to October 2011 using PubMed to identify articles regarding peer review.

Program director opinions of core competencies in hand surgery training: analysis of differences between plastic and orthopedic surgery accredited programs.

Background: The authors' aim was to conduct a national survey of hand surgery fellowship program directors to determine differences of opinions of essential components of hand surgery training between program directors from plastic and orthopedic surgery programs.

Methods: The authors performed a Web-based survey of 74 program directors from all Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited hand surgery fellowship programs to determine components that are essential for hand surgery training. The survey included assessment of nine general areas of practice, 97 knowledge topics, and 172 procedures.

Measuring treatment effectiveness: a guide to incorporating the principles of evidence-based medicine.

Every year, hundreds of new surgical devices and techniques are introduced, and plastic surgeons must determine the associated risks, benefits, and costs of these options when incorporating these advances into their armamentarium. This article will discuss the elements of treatment effectiveness by applying the principles of evidence-based medicine to therapeutics. Current efforts to measure plastic surgery outcomes are evolving and rely on case series and retrospective cohort studies.

A national survey of program director opinions of core competencies and structure of hand surgery fellowship training.

Purpose: We assessed hand surgery program directors' opinions of essential components of hand surgery training and potential changes in the structure of hand surgery programs.

Methods: We recruited all 74 program directors of Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education-accredited hand surgery fellowship programs to participate. We designed a web-based survey to assess program directors' support for changes in the structure of training programs and to assess opinions of components that are essential for graduates to be proficient.

History and evolution of the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure.

Arthrodesis of the distal radioulnar joint combined with the creation of a pseudarthrosis of the distal ulna is frequently referred to as the Sauvé-Kapandji procedure. This eponym is based on the 1936 report by Sauvé and Kapandji, which is believed to be the first report of this innovative technique. There has been some controversy regarding the origin of this procedure, with similar techniques described by Berry in 1930 and Steindler in 1932.