AO Trauma Course—Management of Hand and Wrist Fractures
This course is aimed at practicing hand surgeons (with orthopedic or plastic surgery background), and hand fellows (in US residents who are planning a hand fellowship). It's an interactive and discursive arena where participants are able to understand, discriminate, and consolidate the principles, skills, and techniques applicable to the use of internal fixation in the hand and wrist.
The prerequisite to attend this course is to have previous participation in the AO Trauma Course—Basic Principles of Fracture Management or Introduction to Internal Fixation of Hand and Wrist Fractures.
Why you should choose this course
Top national, regional, and international faculty
2-3 day in duration
Practicing hand surgeons and hand fellows
Network with colleagues from all over the world
Course content
- Phalanges and metacarpals
- MP (volar and dorsal)
- PIP (volar and dorsal)
- DIP (volar and dorsal)
- Approaches to the thumb
- MP/metacarpophalangeal joint
- CMC joint
- Distal radius
- Volar-modified Henry
- Dorsal
- Extended approach to release the carpal tunnel
- Extended for a dorsal approach to the wrist
- Distal ulna
- Scaphoid
- Dorsal
- Volar
- Flaps (number of flaps depends on date and location and availability of specimens)
- Atasoy V-Y
- Kutler bilateral V-Y
- Cross finger
- Segmuller and Venkataswami
- Kite
- Reverse digital artery island or homodigital antegrade island
- Moberg
- Dorsal metacarpal artery perforator
- Thenar
- 1st web Z-plasty
- Multiple Z-plasty
- Dorsolateral
- Dorsal metacarpal artery perforator
- Radial forearm
- Posterior interosseous artery
- Tendon repair exercise using four strand repair and epitendinous repair
*Only in selected courses. Check your chosen date and location for the full program.
- Extraarticular fractures of the hand
- Articular fractures of the hand
- Carpal injuries
- Wrist fractures
- Arthrodesis in the hand and wrist*
*Only in selected courses. Check your chosen date and location for the full program.
- Faculty panel—when and why to operate on hand fractures
- Extraarticular metacarpal and phalangeal fractures
- Principles of treating articular fractures in the hand
- Treatment of articular fractures in the thumb
- Faculty panel—soft-tissue considerations in hand injuries
- Perilunate injuries
- Management of acute fractures of the scaphoid
- Surgical anatomy, imaging, and classification of distal radial and ulnar fractures
- Digital arthrodesis—indications and techniques*
- Wrist arthrodesis—indications and techniques*
*Only in selected courses. Check your chosen date and location for the full program.
- Lag screw fixation of a long spiral diaphyseal metacarpal shaft fracture
- Lag screw and neutralization plate fixation of a short oblique metacarpal fracture
- Fixation of transverse shaft metacarpal fracture with a compression plate
- Intramedullary splinting of a metacarpal V fracture with K-wires
- Fixation of a bicondylar fracture of the proximal phalangeal head
- Fixation of Bennett fracture by applying 2 mm lag screws
- Management of a Rolando fracture
- Fixation of a scaphoid wrist fracture with a headless compression screw
- Management of an intraarticular distal radius fracture using a two-column distal radius plate
- Management of an intraarticular distal radius fracture using the dorsal double plating technique
- Management of a subcapital fracture of the distal ulna, with diaphyseal comminution and styloid fracture
- Arthrodesis of the wrist using a wrist fusion plate*
- Arthrodesis of metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint (thumb) using an LCP*
*Only in selected courses. Check your chosen date and location for the full program.
- Management principles of extraarticular fractures
- Management principles of articular fractures of the thumb and lesser digits
- Scaphoid and perilunate injuries
- Wrist (distal radial and ulnar) fractures
- Small-joint arthrodesis and wrist fusion*
*Only in selected courses. Check your chosen date and location for the full program.
Course details may be subject to change. Please check your chosen date and location for the detailed program.
Target audience
- Practicing hand surgeons (with orthopedic or plastic surgery background)
- Hand fellows (in US residents who are planning a hand fellowship)
Course impressions
Competencies
- Perform pre-treatment assessment including physical examination, patient history including comorbidities
- Order and interpret imaging, classify skeletal and soft-tissue injury
- Decide on appropriate treatment based on skillset and available resources
- Apply the necessary soft-tissue repair techniques
- Correct any skeletal deformity and apply appropriate internal or external stabilization using the instruments and tools correctly
- Evaluate and address unexpected outcomes
- Develop and implement a rehabilitation and follow-up plan
What does competency-based curriculum development mean?
Resources
AO Surgery Reference
Explore the collection of expert-recommended AO Surgery Reference pages that match the course content. They cover patient examination, approaches, key procedures, and further topics for each anatomical area.
Hand and wrist education taskforce
Aida Garcia (Colombia)
Term: 2025–2027
Yukichi Zenke (Japan)
Term: 2026–2028
Abdel-Hakim Massoud
Term: 2026–2028
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