{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:04:45Z","timestamp":1760058285829,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]],"date-time":"2025-03-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742601600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Federal Government of Lower Austria","award":["SF0063"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SF0063"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: COVID-19 presented many challenges for our health system, one being a suspected change in the epidemiology of severe hand trauma modalities. These complex injuries are traditionally treated at specialized hand trauma centers, but COVID-19 has in many ways disturbed these established pathways and presented new challenges. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed finger amputation injuries treated at the University Hospital of St. Poelten between 2018 and 2022 to examine differences in the management of micro amputation injuries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further challenges in the treatment of hand trauma patients were analyzed and solutions were developed. Results: Overall, the number of occupational finger amputation injuries in Lower Austria declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrarily, more private accidents were treated in the same period, suggesting a lockdown specific change in injury characteristics. Throughout the entire examined period, a total of 130 injured fingers, including 29 thumbs, were treated. In 67 cases, a reconstruction attempt was feasible and successful in 59 cases. Specific challenges were fewer active hand trauma centers, subsequent long transport times, specific COVID-19 prevention measures, and limited postoperative rehabilitation resources. Conclusions: Despite many challenges overall affecting the time to revascularization, good results were achieved by small but meaningful modifications. These included well-established principles such as back table preparation and strengthening novel concepts such as tele-medicine for patient selection. Overall, the reconstruction of severe hand injuries is often challenging, especially during a world-wide health crisis, but with adequate solutions, good results can be readily achieved.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14072169","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,24]],"date-time":"2025-03-24T06:21:38Z","timestamp":1742797298000},"page":"2169","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lessons Learned from Reconstructing Severe Hand Injuries During the COVID-19 Pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Christina","family":"Glisic","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8612-4693","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tonatiuh","family":"Flores","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Erol","family":"Konul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hugo","family":"Sabitzer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Bartellas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexander","family":"Rohrbacher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Berfin","family":"Sakar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0321-1255","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sascha","family":"Klee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2144-4682","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Uwe","family":"Graichen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patrick","family":"Platzer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunantplatz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Klaus F.","family":"Schr\u00f6gendorfer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Konstantin","family":"Bergmeister","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr. Karl-Dorrek-Stra\u00dfe 30, 3500 Krems, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Clinic of St. Poelten, Dunant-Platz 1, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria"},{"name":"Clinical Laboratory for Bionic Extremity Reconstruction, University Clinic for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rosberg, H.E., Carlsson, K.S., Cederlund, R.I., Ramel, E., and Dahlin, L.B. 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