Venturing into the overlap between pediatric orthopaedics and hand surgery.

Overview

There is an overlap between pediatric orthopaedic surgery and hand surgery. A pediatric orthopaedic surgeon is accustomed to the intricacies of the immature skeleton, whereas a hand surgeon is more familiar with the regional anatomy and finer surgical techniques. Many hand diagnoses and surgical techniques are appropriate for the pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, including straightforward duplicated thumb reconstruction of a trigger thumb. Many pediatric diagnoses are more suitable for treatment by a hand surgeon, including simple syndactyly release and complex duplicated thumb reconstruction. Other procedures, such as pollicization, cleft hand reconstruction, synpolydactyly release, and macrodactyly management, require more advanced expertise for successful treatment. It is helpful for pediatric orthopaedic surgeons and hand surgeons to be familiar with the indications, surgical techniques, outcomes, and complications of pediatric hand surgery.