The foremost goals of hand and wrist surgery are to restore function and relieve pain. Through the use of advanced microsurgical techniques, Dr. Jai Sungaran is able to achieve these goals with consistent success for patients with serious hand and wrist injuries, deformities, and diseases. Microsurgery entails the use of a specialised operating microscope that allows Dr. Sungaran to make exceptionally precise repairs to damaged tissues using miniaturised instruments and sutures that are finer than a human hair. This level of precision enables him to reattach severed blood vessels and nerves less than a millimetre in diameter.
Ultimately, microsurgery of the hand and wrist allows patients of our Caringbah practice to achieve results that simply would not have been possible before the advent of microsurgical techniques. From emergency arterial repair to replantation of multiple fingers, microsurgical techniques have dramatically redefined what can be accomplished through hand and wrist surgery.
As a highly trained and experienced microsurgeon, Dr. Sungaran holds himself and his team to the highest standards of safety, proficiency, and care. We invite you to schedule your initial consultation with Dr. Sungaran by contacting Southern Hand & Wrist, serving all of New South Wales, including the Sutherland Shire and South-Eastern Sydney, today.
When and why is microsurgery performed?
Except in cases in which surgery is clearly called for as the initial course of treatment, Dr. Sungaran always considers conservative treatment options first. All surgery involves some level of risk, no matter how advanced the technique or technology used or experienced and talented the surgeon. If surgery can be avoided, and the patient is still likely to achieve good results, then Dr. Sungaran will always recommend non-surgical alternatives.
However, non-surgical treatments do not always produce the desired results. In such cases, surgery may be the best, and possibly only, option available. And, as stated above, there are many cases in which surgery is urgently necessary due to the severity of an injury or condition. Whatever the case, if surgery involves repair of the nerves, tendons, or blood vessels, then microsurgical techniques will definitely be employed.
The operating microscope used during microsurgery is able to magnify objects up to 50 times, while a microsurgical needle is capable of passing through a human hair that measures approximately 100 micrometres (.1 mm) in diameter. To put this into perspective, this is also the approximate size of the smallest of the dorsal digital arteries located in your middle, ring, and little fingers. If a dorsal artery were to become severed, you can now imagine what delicate work it would be to suture its two ends back together.
In many cases, microsurgery is necessary not only to restoring function to damaged tissue, but to ensuring its survival. For example, if both main arteries of a finger are cut, urgent surgical repair of one of those arteries is imperative. Without such repair, the finger will die. The key to saving the finger is to re-establish the optimal blood flow possible. This means that the tiny severed artery must not only be stitched together, but stitched together with absolute precision. A practiced microsurgeon will have the best chance of performing this procedure successfully and saving the finger.
Obviously, when dealing with an amputated digit, the issue of re-establishing blood flow is again an immediate concern. Microsurgical techniques must be used urgently to reattach the blood vessels. However, successful replantation of the amputated digit also depends on timely and meticulous repair of the severed nerves, tendons, and other soft tissues, as well as the bones. Some of this work must be performed urgently, while some can be performed in stages to refine and improve the patient’s ability to use the reattached digit. At every stage, however, microsurgical techniques will be essential to the repair of these extremely small tissues.
These are just a couple of examples of how microsurgery can be used to produce superior results for the patient. Microsurgical techniques can be used in a broad range of applications, including skin and nerve grafting, free tissue transfer and flap reconstruction, and treatment of severe fractures.
Before patients commit to surgery of any kind, Dr. Sungaran always informs them of any possible risks or side effects associated with the procedure. He also advises them of what to expect before, during, and after the surgery and addresses any questions or concerns they might have honestly and compassionately.
Learn More about Microsurgery
To learn more about microsurgery, please contact Southern Hand & Wrist in Sutherland Shire, with convenient office locations in Caringbah and Sydney Olympic Park, today.
