Meticulous Repair to Reconnect Your Path to Recovery. 

Damage to a nerve from a traumatic injury is a devastating event that can lead to a complete loss of feeling and movement in your hand. Acute nerve injuries are best managed in the public healthcare system. But when dealing with the lasting effects of a prior nerve injury, public wait times may be excessive and your ability to work and function impaired for prolonged periods. We provide microsurgical expertise to meticulously repair damaged nerves and offer you the chance for a meaningful, functional recovery. 

When Trauma Threatens Your Connection to the World. 

A severe cut, crush, or other traumatic injury that results in immediate numbness or an inability to move your fingers is a frightening experience. This loss of function is often a direct result of damage to the delicate nerves that control your hand. Addressing this damage with specialized care is absolutely critical to restoring your connection to the world through touch and movement. You should go to your nearest emergency department if this happens in order to get acute care and mangement. 

Your Body’s Delicate Electrical Wiring. 

Think of nerves as the body’s complex electrical cables. They carry vital messages between your brain and your hand, allowing you to feel objects (sensation) and to move your muscles (motor function). A traumatic injury can damage these delicate cables in several ways: 

• Laceration: The nerve is cleanly cut. 

• Stretch Injury: The nerve is pulled to the point that its internal fibers tear. 

• Crush Injury: The nerve and its internal structure are crushed by immense force. 

In all cases, the flow of information is interrupted, resulting in a loss of function. 

Re-establishing the Connection, One Fiber at a Time. 

Direct Nerve Repair (Microsurgery)

• When a nerve is cleanly severed, a Direct Nerve Repair is the ideal solution. This is a highly delicate procedure performed under a surgical microscope. This perfect alignment creates a clear tunnel, allowing the thousands of tiny nerve fibers inside to regrow across the repair site and reconnect with their targets. This needs to be done within the first two weeks of injury and is best managed through your local hospital emergency department. 

Nerve Grafting

• When a segment of a nerve is missing or is too severely damaged to be repaired directly, a gap exists. To bridge this gap, a Nerve Graft is required. In this procedure, Dr. French takes a piece of a non-essential sensory nerve from another part of your body (like the leg or arm) and uses it as a “scaffold.” This graft is precisely sutured into the gap, providing a bridge for the regenerating nerve fibers to grow across and find their way to the muscles and skin downstream. 

This is Not Optional. It is the Only Way. 

Successful, reliable nerve repair is impossible to perform with the naked eye. The structures are simply too small. These procedures absolutely require a high-powered surgical microscope, specialized instruments, and a surgeon with  training in microsurgery. Dr. French’s  Hand, Wrist, and Microsurgery fellowship at Harvard was focussed on the advanced training necessary to perform these demanding, function-restoring operations. 

Important Notice for Acute Injuries 

If you have sustained a severe, traumatic injury, please go to the nearest emergency room or call 911 immediately. Our practice provides specialized consultation and surgical reconstruction for patients once their condition is stable.