Rolling admission · Istanbul · Delivered in English
Hand surgery sits in both the orthopaedic and the plastic surgery departments of the host hospital. Follow injured and elective hands from assessment through theatre to the rehabilitation plan, as an observer in one department.
What you see depends on the department's clinical calendar during your placement; the list below describes the department's usual scope, not a guaranteed programme.
Hand surgery is judged by function, so the examination comes before the imaging. In clinic and in the emergency setting the surgeon checks the resting cascade of the fingers, tests each flexor tendon in isolation, maps sensation and records two-point discrimination, because a laceration that looks trivial can divide a tendon or a digital nerve. Radiographs and, where needed, ultrasound or nerve conduction studies complement that examination. Observers follow how the findings are turned into a decision about whether, when and how the wound is explored.
Timing then shapes much of the outcome. Flexor tendon injuries, particularly within the digital sheath, are usually repaired early, and the repair is planned around a rehabilitation protocol that allows protected movement to limit adhesions. Divided nerves are repaired without tension where possible; when a gap remains, grafts, conduits or, in selected proximal injuries, nerve transfers are considered, and delay narrows the options because denervated muscle has a limited window for recovery. Brachial plexus surgery is observed only where the department performs it during your dates — confirmed after review.
The operation is half of the treatment. Splints and exercise programmes protect a repair while preventing stiffness, and the patient's adherence often decides the result, so rehabilitation is planned with the rehabilitation team before discharge. Because the hand straddles two specialties, the host hospital lists hand work in two departments: plastic surgery names tendon and nerve repair and elective hand conditions, while orthopaedics lists hand and upper-limb surgery alongside its fracture and trauma service. Your choice of department shapes the mix you observe.
The orthopaedics and plastic surgery parent pages each describe a whole department; this page draws together the hand and nerve work that both list, although you still apply to one of them. Free-tissue transfer for limb cover belongs to the reconstructive microsurgery page, and arthroscopy and joint replacement at the shoulder and elbow to the shoulder and elbow surgery page.
Senior students and graduate physicians heading for orthopaedics or plastic surgery, and surgeons who want to see how a hand injury is assessed, repaired and rehabilitated, with function rather than imaging as the measure.
Specialist orthopaedic or plastic surgeons who want 12 to 24 months of observation centred on the hand and peripheral nerves, attached to whichever of the two departments matches their background and reviewed by its team.
Both routes are strictly observational: observers attend theatre and clinic without patient contact, do not scrub or assist, and are not assessed on any procedure.
| Clinical Observership | Clinical Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 1, 2 or 4 weeks (extension possible on request) | 12 to 24 months, agreed with the host department |
| Who it is for | Medical students in clinical years and graduate physicians from outside Turkey | Recognised specialists and family physicians seeking advanced exposure beyond standard specialty training |
| Format | Full-time, strictly observational — outpatient clinics, operating theatre, ward rounds, case discussions | Extended observational attachment to one department: daily practice, service structure and specific techniques |
| Certificate | Certificate of attendance issued by the host hospital and signed by its Medical Director | Certificate on completion issued under the accreditation of the affiliated university school of medicine |
| Start | Rotations typically begin on a Monday; dates are agreed individually | Start date planned around the date you request and the department's capacity |
One online application for both routes. State Hand & Peripheral Nerve Surgery as your focus in your objectives; ATDERA reviews the file and prepares it for the Orthopaedics department, then replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
Already started? The application page picks up where you left off.
ATDERA Global Limited (Companies House No. 17173428, registered in England and Wales) coordinates this programme for a university teaching hospital in Istanbul. ATDERA is not a hospital and does not provide clinical care; admission decisions and certificates are the host hospital's.
One online application covers both routes and all twenty-one specialties — details, programme choice and documents in five short steps. ATDERA reviews the file and replies with next steps, typically within two working days.
