Welcoming the 2023-2024 Class of Orthopaedic Surgery Fellows
On August 1, our 2023-2024 class of orthopaedic surgery fellows started across our nine subspecialties.
NewsNov | 16 | 2020
Nearly 14 years ago, Bassem Elhassan, MD—co-chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Shoulder Service, within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and director of the shoulder surgery fellowship—and his former colleagues at the Mayo Clinic were stumped as to how to treat a certain group of patients with major damage of the nerves, with or without bony and soft tissue loss, in the shoulder, elbow and hand. With no other options to mitigate this issue, Elhassan pioneered several procedures to increase function and reduce pain in these patients, who in certain cases were typically told their only options would be to live with a non-functional arm or sometimes amputation.
A: After hard work in the anatomic and biomechanical labs, I have been able to design at least 20 novel procedures that have never been done before elsewhere, on the shoulder, elbow and hand. These procedures were able to help patients who have paralyzed muscles which could happen from birth injury, or trauma or after certain surgeries like a shoulder replacement. Historically, there were not any options for these patients. However, with these procedures we were able to help many patients that were told there was no way to restore more mobility and function.
A: For the joint to function it requires functional muscles around it. Some of these procedures entail taking one muscle from another area to replace the deficient or paralyzed muscle. For example, the lower trapezius can be used to reconstruct the rotator cuff, and pectoralis major muscle can be used to reconstruct a paralyzed deltoid. Most times the muscle transfer is performed locally without taking it completely out of place. Although this does not restore patients’ function and mobility completely, it improves the function enough that most patients are very happy with their outcome. For patients who have no function in their upper extremity, a little is a lot.
A: Shortly after I started at the Mayo Clinic, a respected surgeon approached me and asked me if there was anything I could do to help patients with a paralyzed arm to restore shoulder motion. He mentioned that nerve surgeries have been helping the elbow but not as much the shoulder. So, I went to the lab and designed the first novel muscle transfer—the lower trapezius transfer—that could help with shoulder rotation. Of course, in addition to confirming its feasibility through an atomic feasibility study, we performed extensive biomechanical studies to confirm it would biomechanically restore the function of the lost muscle.
A: Very sincerely, I am here to try to help more patients, and I am really hoping that what I was able to learn and develop over the years I will keep evolving to make sure the outcomes improve based on research. Other than relieving pain and enhancing quality of life for our patients, I want to restore hope to patients who, until the advent of these procedures, believed they would no longer regain function and pain relief.
We are a world leader in treating the full spectrum of musculoskeletal conditions.
Mass General shoulder surgeons provide compassionate care, helping patients get back to their daily activities quickly and safely.
On August 1, our 2023-2024 class of orthopaedic surgery fellows started across our nine subspecialties.
After a three-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 31st annual Richard J. Smith Memorial Lectureship and the 8th Annual Jesse Jupiter International Forum brought surgeons from around the globe to Boston for in-person presentations, roundtable conversations and networking.
Matthew had lingering numbness in his arm following hospitalization for COVID-19. Read about his care journey, which included brachial plexus surgery.
Boston Red Sox team physicians and Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine providers Peter Asnis, MD, Miho J. Tanaka, MD, PhD, and Evan O’Donnell, MD, recently visited JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida for spring training.
Colleen McGauley, FNP-BC, a family nurse practitioner with Mass General’s Children’s Orthopedics Service, recently spoke at the annual conference for the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP).
Orhun Muratoglu, PhD, Director of the Harris Orthopeadic Laboratory, was elected to the National Academy of Inventors Class of 2022 Fellows. This is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors.