Northern Colorado Plastic and Hand Surgery, PC

2315 East Harmony Road, Suite 160 Fort Collins, Colorado 80528 | 970-493-8800

Microsurgical Procedures

Microsurgical procedures are performed on parts of the body that are best visualized under a microscope. Examples of such structures are small blood vessels, nerves, and tubes. Microsurgery uses techniques that have been performed by surgeons since the early twentieth century, such as blood vessel repair and organ transplantation, but under conditions that make traditional vascular surgery difficult or impossible.

Hand Surgery

Cosmetic Surgery

Reconstructive Surgery

Microsurgery

The first microvascular surgery, using a microscope to aid in the repair of blood vessels, was described by Jules Jacobson of the University of Vermont in 1960. The first successful replantation (reattachment of an amputated body part) was reported in 1964 by Harry Bunke. This replantation of a rabbit's ear was significant because blood vessels smaller than 0.04 in (0.1 cm)—similar in size to the blood vessels found in a human hand—were successfully attached. Two years later, the successful replantation of a toe to the hand of a monkey was made possible using microsurgical techniques. Soon thereafter, microsurgery began being used in a number of clinical settings.