Clinical and socio-economical aspects of hand injuries.

A prospective investigation of all hand injuries seen at a major general hospital during a period of one year has been made. Over 900 hand injuries have been registered and systematically been followed up during the period of treatment. The survey includes the frequency, severity and treatment of the hand injuries. Furthermore there is an estimation of the medical and socio-economical consequences of the hand injuries. It is shown that hand injuries are extremely usual and imply enormous costs to the community. Postgraduate tranining in hand surgery is therefore desirable for all those general and orthopaedic surgeons, who deal with the treatment of patients with hand injuries.