Hand & Upper Extremity

Optimal Treatment for Hand and Upper Extremity Injuries

The Cooper Bone and Joint Institute routinely handles the most complex hand and upper extremity injuries. As part of the only Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey, Cooper orthopaedic surgeons care for the most severely injured orthopaedic patients from Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Ocean, and Salem counties. Cooper has the busiest Level 1 Trauma Center in the state, handling more than 2,500 cases each year. Physicians from throughout the region frequently refer difficult cases of hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries to Cooper.

“Patients with hand and upper extremity injuries do better if they get their optimal treatment the first time around. At Cooper, trauma patients get the best care up front,” said David A. Fuller, MD, Director of Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery, an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a Top Doc (SJ Magazine).

One of a few local neuromuscular and microvascular surgeons, Dr. Fuller is part of a full team of orthopaedic surgeons, trauma surgeons, vascular surgeons, plastic surgeons, and neurosurgeons who provide trauma care 24 / 7. Dr. Fuller also performs reconstructive surgery after failed initial treatment and for the late sequela of trauma.

“We provide a spectrum of treatment, from setting simple wrist fractures to arm replantation,” said Dr. Fuller. “We restore the patient’s anatomy as much as possible to prevent future problems and restore function.” Dr. Fuller performs many hand and upper extremity procedures at Cooper’s Surgical Center in Voorhees.

By combining new technologies with proven treatments, Dr. Fuller returns patients to health as quickly and painlessly as possible. For example, when using locking plate technology for fracture fixation, he uses newer, stronger, lower profile devices, fostering patient recovery. Sub-atmospheric pressure in wound healing, in which a suction device stimulates the growth of blood vessels, is becoming the standard for treating difficult wounds rather than major reconstructive surgery. Micro-vascular nerve reconstruction and nerve transfer surgery now offers hope to patients with severe nerve and brachial plexus injuries.

Dr. Fuller is the principal investigator on a double-blind, randomized, placebocontrolled Phase 2B study to evaluate the effect of the investigational medication Chrysalin (TP508) on the time it takes a broken wrist to heal. Chrysalin is injected through the skin into the fracture site at the time of fracture reduction. Chrysalin is a synthetic 23-amino acid peptide that represents the receptor-binding domain of the human thrombin molecule that has been shown to make fractures heal faster. The Phase 2B study is trying to determine the optimal dosage. Cooper is the only site in the South Jersey for this study.