Microvascular Surgery of the Extremities

One of the most outstanding achievements in contemporary surgery has been the development ofmicrosurgery and its c1inical application. Early in 1960s, the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital began to research and practise the replant- ation of severed limbs and has hence been acc1aimed as the cradle of replant- ation surgery in China. Succeeding Dr. Chen Zhong-wei, Dr. Yu Zhong-jia has led the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to continue ploughing and weeding diligently in the field of microsurgery of the extremities and has made, in both reconstructive and reparative microsurgery, great advances that have attracted world attention. I used to be the scientific advisor of this hospital and have therefore followed c1ose1y what has been achieved there. A well-known orthopaedist and microsurgeon, Dr. Yu Zhong-jia is adept in using the present advanced techniques to solve difficult problems which re- mained unsettled in spite of predecessors' repeated earlier attempts, and his own scientific research is always directed by the imperative needs of his patients. The results of his research thus not only attain a high technical standard, but are also rich in practical value. Dr. Yu was the the first surgeon in the world to trans plan ted autogenous toes to the amputated forearm stump, with a metallic artificial metacarpus as the connection, reconstructing a new hand with sensibil- ity and movability afterwards eulogized by foreign friends as the "China Hand".