The surgeon presented the latest advances in microsurgical techniques for free tissue transfer in wrist surgery.

On 4-7 March, Dr Francisco Piñal participated as a speaker at the 23rd Annual Hand Surgery Symposium under the title “The Renaissance of the wrist. Emergence from the dark ages of covid organised by the Hand Rehabilitation Foundation.

The programme of this surgical symposium provided a comprehensive exploration of the tried, and true, new treatments for various upper extremity problems.

Dr Piñal is a regular in the line-up of international guest speakers at the event. Among the surgeon’s various activities, he was the only Spanish guest at the meeting. In 2017 he received further international recognition for his scientific and medical career, with his appointment as honorary professor at the Philadelphia Hand Center, one of the most prestigious centres specialising in the upper limb in the USA.

Born in 1960 in Santander, Dr. Francisco del Piñal is considered one of the best hand surgeons in the world. His contributions in fields such as microsurgical toe-to-hand transfer and arthroscopic surgery techniques for wrist fractures are internationally recognised and applied.

Other milestones in his career include the establishment of the principles of acute catastrophic hand reconstruction surgery, as well as his leading role in the development of wrist arthroscopy, through procedures such as dry arthroscopy.