The field of hand surgery deals with both surgical and non-surgical treatment of conditions and problems that may take place in the hand or upper extremity (commonly from the tip of the hand to the shoulder). Hand surgery may be practiced by graduates of general surgery, orthopedic surgery and plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons are particularly well suited to handle traumatic hand and digit amputations that require a "replant" operation. Hand surgeons perform a wide variety of operations such as fracture repairs, releases, transfer and repairs of tendons and reconstruction of injuries, rheumatoid deformities and congenital defects. This new and important book gathers the latest research from around the globe in the study of hand surgery and focuses on such topics as: stem cell applications in hand surgery, tissue engineering for bone repair in the hand, intramedullary fixation of distal radius fractures and others.