PHILADELPHIA- Thousands of patients with severe limb injuries will benefit from advanced surgical techniques and potential limb-saving procedures thanks to a $4.9 million donation establishing the Wyss Orthoplastic Global Education and Innovation Hub at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The donation from the Wyss Medical Foundation will fund research, create fellowships, and establish a conference in the emerging field of orthoplastic surgery, which combines expertise from both plastic and orthopaedic surgery to improve patient outcomes.
"Orthoplastic surgery transforms how we treat and reconstruct severe limb injuries, and the creation of this new hub will allow for us to spread knowledge and training that could help tens of thousands of people," said L. Scott Levin, MD, chair emeritus of Orthopaedic Surgery, the Paul B. Magnuson Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery, and a professor of Plastic Surgery at Penn Medicine.
A pioneer of the orthoplastic surgery field, Levin has helped develop many new techniques in "limb salvage," in which severely injured arms and legs are treated to avoid amputation when possible, optimize treatment and recovery, and potentially return function.
Among the hub's planned offerings are:
- Orthoplastic and limb salvage surgery fellowships: Preparing and training the next generation of surgeons and surgical leaders in orthoplastic surgery techniques and tools
- A global orthoplastic surgery conference: Hosting surgeons from around the world to increase opportunities for collaboration and advance understanding of the field and the opportunities it provides to patients for improved quality of life
- Funding for orthoplastic surgery research: Seed money to support multiple new projects in the field, allowing scientists and surgeons the opportunity to study novel ideas and techniques
- "Flap" education: An annual course taught by Penn Medicine faculty in the practice of restoring limb function after injuries via microvascular surgery to bring "flaps" of healthy tissue with their intact blood supply from one part of the body to another
"Having a greater opportunity to pass on knowledge and increase the chance that a patient who needs orthoplastic services will come across a trained surgeon is fantastic," said Levin. "What is now possible with this hub in place is thrilling."
Spread over five years, the new donation means that the non-profit Wyss Medical Foundation, founded by Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss, has now donated more than $11 million to Penn's Orthopaedic Surgery program.
