Operative Trends in Orthopaedic Hand Surgery Fellowships

Abstract

Abstract Objective Since 1958, more than 50 postresidency fellowship programs in hand surgery have been introduced within the United States. Ongoing changes in health care and medical education necessitate the evaluation of these fellowships. The purpose of this study is to identify trends in operative experience over time regarding procedure volume, surgery type, and anatomic region. Materials and Methods National Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) case logs of graduating orthopaedic hand surgery fellows were evaluated for years 2011 to 2019. Procedures were grouped according to ACGME-defined categories for hand surgery. The mean number of procedures per fellow in each category was trended over time using a Mann–Kendall test. Results All 1,257 fellows were included. The mean number of procedures completed annually by each fellow increased from 797.6 in 2011 to 945.6 in 2019 (p < 0.01). Over the course of the study period, there were increases in the number of “soft tissue,” “fracture,” and “nerve” procedures (p < 0.001), while the number of “congenital” procedures decreased (p < 0.05). Additionally, small but statistically significant increases were found in “amputation,” “Dupuytren's,” and “decompression of tendon sheath/synovectomy/ganglions” procedures (p < 0.01). Conclusion There has been an increase in the number of procedures performed by orthopaedic hand surgery fellows over the past decade. This appears to be due to the increase in nerve, fracture, and soft tissue categories, and there has been a decrease in the number of congenital cases completed. These data confirm that the operative experiences for most hand surgery fellows are robust and growing over time.