Hand Specialists Treat Range of Injuries

Hand surgery has developed as a medical specialty since World War II, when thousands of soldiers suffered devastating hand injuries. Plastic surgeons – adept in reconstruction, wound care and dealing with injuries involving tissues, nerves and blood vessels – were recruited during the war to help orthopaedists and general surgeons develop better techniques to address the multitude of war-related hand injuries.

It so happens that hand surgery and plastic surgery were – and continue to be – linked, explains Dr. R. Brannon Claytor, who has been with Plastic & Hand since 2005. Claytor has extensive hand surgery training, including a fellowship in St. Louis with a world leader in nerve injuries.

About half of Claytor’s time is spent on hand and wrist cases, but like the rest of the Plastic & Hand team, he also deals with everything from breast reconstruction to removal of skin cancers to cosmetic procedures.

“I love the variety and solving lots of different problems in this job,” says Claytor. “I love taking care of people every day, learning about their lives, meeting their family members and having them put their faith in me to fix them.”

And there’s plenty to fix, with hand problems alone. Consider the range of hand cases he and his colleagues take care of daily: arthritis, birth defects of the hand, carpal tunnel syndrome and other nerve problems of the hand and arm as well as traumatic injuries.

Therapists on-site at Plastic & Hand also provide care as part of the treatment plan for many hand problems.