Lessons Learned from Reconstructing Severe Hand Injuries During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Recent Publication
Plastic surgery teams faced major challenges during the pandemic: Fewer specialized centers, long transport routes and limited rehabilitation services made it difficult to treat serious hand injuries. A study at St. Pölten University Hospital and KL Krems showed that the type of accidents changed - fewer accidents at work and more accidents during leisure time. Despite the circumstances, successful finger reconstruction was achieved in many cases. This was made possible by targeted adjustments such as optimized surgical preparation and the use of telemedicine in patient selection.
Glisic, C., Flores, T., Konul, E., Sabitzer, H., Bartellas, G., Rohrbacher, A., Sakar, B., Klee, S., Graichen, U., Platzer, P., Schrögendorfer, K. F., & Bergmeister, K. (2025). Lessons Learned from Reconstructing Severe Hand Injuries During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(7), 2169. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14072169
Dr. Christina Glisic
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
OA Dr. Tonatiuh Flores
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
OA Dr. Erol Konul
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
OA Dr. Hugo Sabitzer
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
OA Dr. Giovanni Bartellas
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
Dr. Berfin Sakar
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sascha Klee
Scientific Staff (Sen. Scientist), Member of the Committee for Scientific Integrity and Ethics
Department of Biostatistics and Data Science
Dr. Uwe Graichen
Head of
Department of Biostatistics and Data Science
Prim. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Patrick Platzer MBA PhD
Division of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (University Hospital St. Pölten)
Prim. Clin. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Klaus Schrögendorfer MBA FEBOPRAS
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)
OA PD Dr. Konstantin Bergmeister PhD FEBHS
Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (University Hospital St. Pölten)