ABOS Surgery of the Hand study guide
ABOS Surgery of the Hand · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) offers a subspecialty certification in Surgery of the Hand, listed on the ABOS website alongside its other subspecialty area, Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. It is intended for orthopaedic surgeons who have completed the applicable training and certification prerequisites and who wish to document subspecialty knowledge in hand and upper-extremity surgery. The ABOS Surgery of the Hand study guide has 5 sections and about 1,362 words.
01Hand and Wrist Trauma: Fractures, Dislocations, Tendon and Nerve Injuries
A candidate must know the injury patterns that dominate hand surgery. For the wrist, understand scaphoid fractures: the blood supply is retrograde, entering distally and running proximally, so proximal-pole fractures carry the highest risk of nonunion and avascular necrosis.
273 words, about 1 min02Congenital and Pediatric Hand Conditions
Congenital anomalies are organized by embryologic failure: failure of formation (radial longitudinal deficiency, cleft hand), failure of separation (syndactyly), duplication (polydactyly), overgrowth (macrodactyly), and constriction band sequence. Timing drives treatment.
276 words, about 1 min03Arthritis, Dupuytren, and Degenerative/Inflammatory Disease of the Hand
Degenerative and inflammatory arthritis present differently and must be distinguished. Osteoarthritis most often affects the thumb CMC, STT, and DIP joints, producing basilar thumb pain with pinch; examine with the grind test and assess CMC subluxation.
272 words, about 1 min04Nerve Compression, Microsurgery, and Soft Tissue Reconstruction
Nerve compression is diagnosed clinically and confirmed electrodiagnostically. Carpal tunnel syndrome presents with nocturnal paresthesias in the median distribution, thenar atrophy, and positive Phalen and Tinel signs; release the transverse carpal ligament while protecting the recurrent motor branch.
255 words, about 1 min05Tumors, Infection, and Miscellaneous Hand/Wrist Conditions
Ganglion cyst is the most common hand mass, arising from a joint or tendon sheath. Enchondroma is the most common primary bone tumor of the hand and often presents with pathologic fracture.
286 words, about 1 min