The Upper Hand: Chuck & Chris Talk Hand Surgery
The Upper Hand Podcast feature Charles Goldfarb and Chris Dy from Washington University Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Our weekly podcast will discuss all things hand surgery, from the technical aspects of what we do (diagnosis, treatment) to our more personal approaches to events and opportunities that hand surgeons experience. We welcome feedback and audience engagement. We are grateful for the muscial contribution of @iamPeterMartin.
Episodes
Chuck and Chris host a live podcast at the ASSH Annual Meeting in Boston. Special guest Greg Merrell discusses new initiatives at the Journal of Hand Surgery to kick things off. We discussed meeting highlights with audience members, hit on several controversies, reviewed the Touch Prosthesis for CMC, and so much more! We apologize for the audio quality being subpar.
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more in...
Chuck and Chris briefly review challenges with the US healthcare system but spend most of the episode discussing difficult hand fracture cases.
Meyer ZI, Goldfarb CA, Calfee RP, Wall LB. The Central Slip Fracture: Results of Operative Treatment of Volar Fracture Subluxations/Dislocations of the Proximal Interphalangeal Joint. J Hand Surg Am. 2017 Jul;42(7):572.e1-572.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2017.03.030. Epub 2017 May 3. PMID: 284765...
Chuck and Chris share thoughts and tips for success for new attendings and new fellows. Things such as the 3 A's and the 3 E's (tune in for this new one) and many other pearls.
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from our partner on job search and career opportunities.
The Upper Hand Podcast is sponsored by Checkpoint Surgical, a provider of innovative solutions for peripheral serve surger...
Chuck and Chris review 6 recent Journal of Hand Surgery articles with a variety of topics. Tune in and see below.
1) Arends GR, van Kooij YE, Stern BZ, Hovius SER, Wouters RM; Hand-Wrist Study Group; de Ridder WA. Understanding Why Certain Patients With Hand and Wrist Conditions Are Dissatisfied Despite Achieving Their Expressed Personal Improvement Goals Anchored at Satisfaction: A Qualitative Study. J Hand Surg Am. 2026 Jun;...
Chuck and Chris have a potpourri of topics including CMS proposed changes for 2027 (not good for hand surgery), cases, and two listener submitted topics: board preparation and caring for patients with ligamentous laxity/ Ehlers Danlos.
Chuck references Christian Pean's Substack called 'Techy Surgeon' as a great resource for value based care and all things tech including AI insights.
See www.practicelink.com/theupperha...
Chuck and Chris welcome Kathleen McKeon as our guest to discuss practice types, including:
- academic
- private
- PE-backed private
- an employed positions
Dr. McKeon has personal experience with PE and shares insights for us all to consider. We also learn a bit about her personal journey joining a well-known sports practice and succeeding in a "privatademic" environment.
Dr. McKeon references Ben Schwartz' Substack ca...
Chuck and Chris welcome Mark Baratz as our guest to talk about a number of topics, including sustainability and surgery, book club, culture, and so much more. Join us for pearls of wisdom from Mark Baratz and learn alongside of us.
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from our partner on job search and career opportunities.
The Upper Hand Podcast is sponsored by Checkpoint Surgical, a provider of inn...
Chuck and Chris catch up and discuss the new JBJS 'What's New in Hand Surgery', written by Eric Wagner and Nina Suh. This takes us through 2025 and highlights new and impactful scientific articles on our field.
Wagner ER, Suh N. What's New in Hand and Wrist Surgery. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2026 Mar 18;108(6):401-409. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.25.01568. Epub 2026 Feb 3. PMID: 41632853.
We are still need of a podcast inte...
Chuck and Chris catch up and discuss a few clinical scenarios including the Arcade of Struthers and indications to address it with ulnar nerve transposition. They also discuss adolescent forearm instability, especially in congenital conditions, and the role of the one- bone forearm
We are still need of a podcast intern! We would appreciate any referrals!
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more i...
Chuck and Chris continue the initiative working with The Journal of Hand Surgery on a quarterly journal club. Nash and Macerena choose the articles from the previous quarter and Chris and Chuck review the articles and discuss practical implications. See articles below.
In addition, we discuss a case of possible pronator syndrome together with carpal tunnel syndrome including debate on the role of nerve studies, physical ...
Chuck and Chris catch up on recent travels including the Pediatric Hand Study Group meeting in Atlanta. We discuss a few cases including a 5th CMC fracture dislocation, a 5+ year old scaphoid nonunion, a nightstick fracture, and more. We also respond to listener submitted questions including 4th compartment tenosynovitis, CMC arthritis with MCP hyperextension including the role of CMC fusion, and ulnar nerve transpositi...
Chuck and Chris welcome Jason Strelzow to discuss AI in general, applications in medicine (including ambient listening), and his favorite chatbot. Dr. Strelzow is a hand surgeon with a trauma focus at Wash U and is the JBJS AI Associate Editor.
We are in need of a podcast intern! We would appreciate any referrals!
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from our partner on job search...
Chuck and Chris spent a few minutes discussing Artemis II. So many interesting discussion points from this mission around the moon- we focus on selection criteria for competitive jobs (like astronauts and orthopedic residents)! In addition, we hit the highlights from Rick Wright's visit as a Leadership lecturer. Rick spoke on 'How to be the best resident and attending' and we all learned a great deal. Chris ...
Chuck and Chris discuss volar plating for distal radius fractures. What are the alternatives, what are some technical pearls, and more.
We are in need of a podcast intern! We would appreciate any referrals!
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from our partner on job search and career opportunities.
The Upper Hand Podcast is sponsored by Checkpoint Surgical, a provider of...
Chuck and Chris share interesting information about Chuck's trip to India for the World Congenital Symposium and Chris' visit to the Curtis National Hand Center as a Visiting Professor. Then they discuss a listener's concern about their discussion of operating room efficiency/ Chuck's trip to Atlanta.
We are in need of a podcast intern! We would appreciate any referrals!
See www.practicelin...
Chuck and Chris begin a new initiative working with The Journal of Hand Surgery on a quarterly journal club. Nash and Macerena will choose the articles from the previous quarter and Chris and Chuck will review the articles and discuss practical implications. This first episode includes discussion of the following articles from Q4 of 2025:
Porche KM, Spinner RJ, Bishop AT, Pulos N, Shin AY. Age-Related Effects on ...
Chuck and Chris begin a new initiative working with The Journal of Hand Surgery on a quarterly journal club. Nash and Macerena will choose the articles from the previous quarter and Chris and Chuck will review the articles and discuss practical implications. This first episode includes discussion of the following articles from Q4 of 2025:
Portney DA, Lee CP, Wolf JM, Strelzow JA, Stepan JG. A Changing Landscape in Surgic...
Chuck and Chris review common, "straightforward" surgeries in hand surgery and what might go wrong. We specifically discuss trigger finger release, dequervains release, ganglion excision and carpal tunnel release. We share our thoughts and hope for listener feedback.
We are in need of a podcast intern! We would appreciate any referrals!
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from ...
Chuck and Chris respond to listener submitted questions regarding cubital tunnel decompression and ulnar nerve transposition. We also discuss some nuanced cases of thumb UCL injuries.
We are in need of a podcast intern! We would appreciate any referrals!
See www.practicelink.com/theupperhand for more information from our partner on job search and career opportunities.
The Upper Hand Podcast is spons...
Chris goes solo on this one as we share his guest podcast appearance on "The Resident Review Podcast."
The Second Look: Navigating Revision Surgery for Carpal and Cubital Tunnel Syndromes
Revision surgery for nerve compression in the upper extremity presents unique challenges. While primary decompression procedures for conditions like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (CuTS) are common, addressing per...
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